Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development Of A Novel Electron-Transfer Secondary Reaction Matrix, Characterization Of The Site–Specificity Of Novel Bilin-Lyase, And Fundulus Grandis Protein Expression Investigation Using Mass Spectrometry, Mohamed N. Boutaghou

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Reported in this dissertation are the results of investigations performed at the New Orleans Center for Mass Spectrometry at the University of New Orleans. The projects that are detailed in the coming pages take on a variety of subjects, but a common thread is that each employs matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry to solve a problem. Fundamental aspects of MALDI in-plume ionization are implicated in the introduction of a newly developed electron-transfer secondary ionization matrix. The remaining projects are related to the ever expanding field of proteomics. Mass spectrometry was used to investigate the site specificity of a newly …

Structure And Dynamics Of The Membrane Protein Bacteriorhodopsin Studied By Mass Spectrometry, Yan Pan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Membrane proteins continue to represent a major challenge for most analytical techniques. Using bacteriorhodopsin (BR) as model system, this work aims to develop mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches for exploring the structure, dynamics and folding of membrane proteins.

As the first step, BR in its native lipid environment was exposed to hydroxyl radicals, which were produced by laser photolysis of hydrogen peroxide. It was found that the resulting methionine (Met) labeling pattern was consistent with the known BR structure. This finding demonstrates that laser-induced oxidative Met labeling can provide structural information on membrane proteins. In subsequent experiments, the effects of different …

Advanced Techniques In Mass Spectrometry For Qualitative And Quantitative Protein Characterization, Andrew Boissy Dykstra

Doctoral Dissertations

Though mass spectrometry has earned a central role in the field of proteomics due to its versatility in a wide range of experiments, challenges and complications are still encountered when using mass spectrometry to characterize protein structures, post-translational modifications (PTMs), and abundances. In this dissertation, analytical methods utilizing mass spectrometry have been developed to address challenges associated with both qualitative and quantitative protein characterization. The effectiveness of using multiple pepsin-like proteases, both separately and in mixtures, combined with online proteolysis using a special triaxial probe has been demonstrated on an amyloid beta peptide related to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. …