MATRIX-ASSISTED LASER DESORPTION IONISATION MASS-SPECTROMETRY APPLIEDTO BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES/

Since its invention in the late 1980s, matrix-assisted laser desorptio n/ionisation-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) has been applied to a large number of analytical problems such as the analysis of proteins, glycoc onjugates, polynucleotides and synthetic polymers. This article explai ns briefly the principle of MALDI and the instrumentation required. Th e preparation and purification of samples on a microlitre scale prior to mass analysis are described. Examples are given of MALDI mass analy sis using infrared and ultraviolet lasers (IR- and UV-MALDI-MS), Analy tical applications of MALDI-MS to mass analysis of electroblotted prot eins, to unambiguous protein identification, the de novo sequencing of polynucleotides, DNA mutant analysis for diagnostic purposes, and the analysis of noncovalent complexes, are addressed. (C) 1998 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.