The mass spectrometric identification and quantification of proteins requires prior splitting of the proteins into peptides. This splitting is called protein digestion. It is carried out with the aid of enzymes such as the protease trypsin or endopeptidase Lys-C.

The analysis of proteins by mass spectrometric methods can be carried out either with proteins in solution or with proteins separated by SDS gel electrophoresis. The sample preparation consists of several steps. After denaturation and washing of the sample, the first step is the reduction and subsequent alkylation of the sulfhydryl groups of the proteins. The reagents TCEP and CAA are used for this purpose. This is followed by the actual enzymatic digestion and subsequent extraction of the newly formed peptides, which can then be analysed by mass spectrometry.

For the generation of robust proteomic data, a reproducible protein splitting process is necessary. Here, the use of automated sample preparation robots is extremely useful.

The basis for this automation is the CHRONECT Robotic Autosampler and the CHRONOS software developed by Axel Semrau. It allows a time-optimized utilization of the robot system and thus enables a high sample throughput.

To visit website, click here