Ee. Niederkofler et al., Determination of beta-2 microglobulin levels in plasma using a high-throughput mass spectrometric immunoassay system, ANALYT CHEM, 73(14), 2001, pp. 3294-3299
A high-throughput mass spectrometric immunoassay (MSIA) system for the anal
ysis of proteins directly from biological fluids is reported. A 96-well-for
mat robotic workstation equipped with antibody-derivatized affinity pipet t
ips was used for the parallel extraction of specific proteins from samples
and subsequent deposition onto 96-well arrayed matrix-assisted laser desorp
tion/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) targets. Int
erferences:from nonspecificalIy bound proteins were minimized through choic
e of appropriate affinity pipet tip derivatization chemistries, Sample prep
aration for MALDI-TOFMS was enhanced through the use of hydrophobic/hydroph
ilic contrasting targets, which also presented functionalities found to pro
mote matrix/analyte crystal growth, Automated mass spectrometry was used in
the unattended acquisition of data, resulting in an analysis rate of simil
ar to 100 samples/h (biological fluid --> data). The quantitative MSIA of b
eta (2)m levels present in human plasma samples is given as illustration.