High Resolution Fourier Transform-ICR Biopolymer Mass Spectrometry: New Approaches in Proteome Analysis, Characterisation of Complex Biological Mixtures and Combinatorial Chemistry

The development of efficient "soft ionisation" methods in the last years has provided the basis for the molecular characterisation of biopolymers by mass spectrometry. In contrast to previous limitations in the molecular weight range amenable, electrospray ionisation (ESI-MS) and matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI-MS) have provided access to biopolymers >> 100 kDa. The recent development of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry enabled a breakthrough for the ultra-high resolution mass spectrometric analysis of biopolymers using both ESI and MALDI ionisation (A.G. Marshall, Mass Spectrom. Rev. 17, 1, 1998). Present studies in our laboratory on the analytical development of ESI-FTICR mass spectrometry focus on (i) the structure analysis of non-covalent supramolecular biopolymer complexes; (ii) the direct, high resolution mass spectrometry of peptide mixtures in proteome analysis and analysis of combinatorial mixtures; and (iii) the identification of antigen determinant structures of mono- and polyclonal antibodies using the mass spectrometric epitope mapping method developed in our laboratory (M. Przybylski, Adv. Mass Spectrom. 13, 275, 1995). For this new interdisciplinary DFG research programme, a 7 T Bruker FTICR MS instrument with Apollo electrospray and nano electrospray ionisation sources, micro LC-MS and CE-MS facilities, a new MALDI-MS ionisation source with IR-MPD equipment has been installed. New biochemical applications of FTICR-MS are the structure elucidation of cell surface proteins, the epitope elucidation of target antigens in auto-immune diseases and the characterisation of cell-specific proteins for apoptosis. In these studies FTICR-MS is providing new analytical perspectives to biochemical and cell-biological applications of biopolymer structure analysis.

The DFG has given a recommendation for this laboratory at the University of Konstanz as a Centre for Mass Spectrometric Biopolymer Structure Analysis. Corresponding new graduate and post-graduate course programmes such as GDCh-courses and international courses have in been conducted since autumn 2000. The next course will take place preceding the 7^th Europoean Workshop on Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (EFTMS 2004) 24 - 27 March 2004.

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