Letter: The diagnostic value of amino acid side-chain losses in electron capture dissociation of polypeptides, COmment on: 'Can the (M-X) region in electron capture dissociation provide reliable information on amino acid composition of polypeptides?'

摘要

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) is a tandem mass spectrometric technique unique, so far, to Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry. Its introduction has revolutionized the structural analysis of peptides and proteins. The advantages of ECD over other "slow-heating" tandem mass spectrometric techniques, such as infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD), include greater extent of cleavage along the peptide backbone, retention of post-translational modifications (γ-carboxyglutamic acid, O-and N-linked glycosylation, phosphorylation, and fatty acids) and cleavage of disulfide bonds.