CHARACTERIZATION OF 2 NEW MATRICES FOR MATRIX-ASSISTED LASER DESORPTION IONIZATION MASS-SPECTROMETRY/

Three structurally related compounds, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylpyruvic acid (HMPPA), indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPA), and indole-3-glyoxylic aci d have been evaluated as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization ( MALDI) matrices, HMPPA and IPA were found to be effective matrices for MALDI-MS analysis of proteins and peptides and have been characterize d in this work, HMPPA was found to be a particularly good matrix for t he analysis of proteins and peptides because of its tolerance towards impurities and the resulting sensitivity in MALDI-MS experiments, Anal ysis of model proteins and peptides, including those in biological flu id, are demonstrated.