• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.2293-2298
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• 2010

Focused electrospray (FES) deposition method is presented for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. FES ion optics consists of two cylindrical focusing electrodes capped with a truncated conical electrode through which an electrospray emitter passes along the cylindrical axis. A spray of charged droplets is focused onto a sample well on a MALDI target plate under atmospheric pressure. The shape and size distributions of matrix crystals are visualized by scanning electron microscope and the mass spectra are obtained by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Angiotensin II, bradykinin, and substance P are used as test samples, while $\alpha$-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid and dihydroxybenzoic acid are employed as matrices. FES of a sample/matrix mixture produces fine crystal grains on a 1-3 mm spot and reproducibly yields the mass spectra with little shot-to-shot and spot-to-spot variations. Although FES greatly stabilizes the signals, the space charge due to matrix ions limits the detection sensitivity of peptides. To avoid the space charge problem, we adopted a dual FES/FES mode, which separately deposits matrix and sample by FES in sequence. The dual FES/FES mode reaches the detection sensitivity of 0.88 amol, enabling ultrasensitive of peptides by homogeneously depositing matrix and sample under atmospheric pressure.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.118-124
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• 2021

Many previous studies have focused on revealing the harmfulness of microplastic particles, whereas very few studies have focused on the effects of chemicals, particularly photooxidation product. In this study, products of photodegradation from expanded polystyrene (EPS), compounds produced by photolysis by ultraviolet (UV) light, were investigated. EPS was directly irradiated and photolyzed using a UV lamp, and then the extracted sample was analyzed using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Multiple ionization techniques, including electrospray ionization, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, and atmospheric pressure photoionization, were used. In total, >300 compounds were observed, among which polystyrene monomer, dimer, and oxidized products were observed. In this work, the data presented clearly demonstrate that it is necessary to identify and monitor oxidized plastic compounds and assess their effect on the environment.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.196-204
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• 2010

With the completion of genome sequencing of several organisms, attention has been focused to determine the function and functional network of proteins by proteome analysis. The recent techniques of proteomics have been advanced quickly so that the high-throughput and systematic analyses of cellular proteins are enabled in combination with bioinformatics tools. Furthermore, the development of proteomic techniques helps to elucidate the functions of proteins under stress or diseased condition, resulting in the discovery of biomarkers responsible for the biological stimuli. Ultimate goal of proteomics orients toward the entire proteome of life, subcellular localization, biochemical activities, and their regulation. Comprehensive analysis strategies of proteomics can be classified as three categories: (i) protein separation by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) or liquid chromatography (LC), (ii) protein identification by either Edman sequencing or mass spectrometry (MS), and (iii) quanitation of proteome. Currently MS-based proteomics turns shiftly from qualitative proteome analysis by 2-DE or 2D-LC coupled with off-line matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) and on-line electrospray ionization (ESI) MS, respectively, to quantitative proteome analysis. Some new techniques which include top-down mass spectrometry and tandem affinity purification have emerged. The in vitro quantitative proteomic techniques include differential gel electrophoresis with fluorescence dyes, protein-labeling tagging with isotope-coded affinity tag, and peptide-labeling tagging with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation. In addition, stable isotope labeled amino acid can be in vivo labeled into live culture cells through metabolic incorporation. MS-based proteomics extends to detect the phosphopeptide mapping of biologically crucial protein known as one of post-translational modification. These complementary proteomic techniques contribute to not only the understanding of basic biological function but also the application to the applied sciences for industry.