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Our group has the overarching goal of catalyzing evolution in the rapidly developing field of protein sequence analysis (proteomics). With an emphasis on ion chemistry and instrumentation, we seek to develop and apply new mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics technology. Presently, we are tightly focused on the development of ion/ion chemical reactions; these reactions have already shown great promise to interrogate large peptides and even whole proteins (i.e., top-down proteomics) effectively. By performing our experiment in the context of the whole protein, we can begin to elucidate important biological events such as global patterns of modification and messenger RNA (mRNA) editing. Our laboratory is also engaged in a number of applied projects that are carried out collaboratively. Differential phosphoproteomics, glycomics, and cancer biomarker discovery are some of the areas that we are presently investigating. Our final thrust is in the area of data processing—new technologies generate new opportunities; therefore we wish to extract as much of this new information as possible in an automated, high-throughput fashion.
www.chem.wisc.edu/people/profiles/Coon.php
The Technique
Mass spectrometry (MS) has become a preferred methdology for high-throughput proteomics. Still, this technique has numerous embodiments—each having its own attributes. Our work focuses on quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometers (QLTs). QLTs are relatively inexpensive, offer good sensitivity, and are easily adapted to accommodate ion/ion reactions (reactions of small-molecule anions with peptide/protein cations in the gas phase). These reactions can be classified in three categories: (i) reactions that remove charge from the peptide ion (proton transfer); (ii) reactions that transfer an electron to the peptide ion (electron transfer dissociation); and (iii) reactions that result in the formation of a complex (anion attachment). Through the design, development, and implementation of these chemistries, we aim to accelerate the emergent field of large molecule MS by generating an ensemble of multifunctional tools for systematic peptide/protein ion characterization.
Advancing proteomics with ion/ion chemistry, p. 783.
