ELECTROSPRAY-IONIZATION MASS-SPECTROMETRY OF CYCLODEXTRIN COMPLEXES OF AMINO-ACIDS AND PEPTIDES

Appropriate complex-forming side-chains of peptides and proteins can b ind cyclodextrins. We have characterized interactions of amino acids w ith cyclodextrins by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The st oichiometry of various alpha-cyclodextrin/protonated tryptophan comple xes sampled from solution to the gas phase by ESI was revealed by taki ng advantage of the extended mass range and high mass resolution of a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance instrument. Binding of beta- cyclodextrin to recombinant human insulin has been demonstrated.