PROTEIN MASS-SPECTROMETRY - APPLICATIONS TO ANALYTICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

The advent of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectro metry (MALDI-MS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS ) in the last 5 years has greatly enhanced the area of protein mass sp ectrometry. This paper presents an overview of the applications of pro tein mass spectrometry in the area of analytical biotechnology, partic ularly as related to biopharmaceutical research and development. These applications include the determination of protein molecular mass, pep tide mapping, peptide sequencing, ligand binding, determination of dis ulfide bonds, active site characterization of enzymes, protein self-as sociation and protein folding/higher order structural characterization .