METHOD FOR PROTEIN IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION IN COMPLEX MIXTURES UTILIZING AFFINITY SELECTION OF CONSTITUENT PEPTIDE FRAGMENTS

摘要

A method for protein identification in complex mixtures that utilizes affinity selection of constituent proteolytic peptide fragments unique to a protein analyte. These 'signature peptides' function as analytical surrogates. Mass spectrometric analysis of the proteolyzed mixture permits identification of a protein in a complex sample without purifying the protein or obtaining its composite peptide signature.