Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Effect Of Protein Stabilization On Charge State Distribution In Positive- And Negative Ion Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectra, Stephen J. Watt, Margaret Sheil, Jennifer L. Beck, Pavel Prosselkov, Gottfried Otting, Nicholas E. Dixon

Professor Nick E Dixon

Changes in protein conformation are thought to alter charge state distributions observed in electrospray ionization mass spectra (ESI-MS) of proteins. In most cases, this has been demonstrated by unfolding proteins through acidification of the solution. This methodology changes the properties of the solvent so that changes in the ESI-MS charge envelopes from conformational changes are difficult to separate from the effects of changing solvent on the ionization process. A novel strategy is presented enabling comparison of ESI mass spectra of a folded and partially unfolded protein of the same amino acid sequence subjected to the same experimental protocols and conditions. …