Protein Quantification Measured by Mass Spectrometry

Protein is the foundation for maintaining health in the human body. It is not only a necessary substance for life but also a crucial element for promoting the normal biochemical reactions of the body and sustaining the normal operation of life. With the improvement of people's living standards, people are increasingly supplementing nutrition by taking in protein. Therefore, establishing a scientific, rapid, and accurate method for determining protein content has important practical significance. In addition, changes in protein content are also related to the occurrence and development of some diseases, and the determination of protein content is of great importance for biological research and clinical diagnosis.

 

There are various methods for determining protein content. Traditional methods for determining protein content, such as the BCA method and the Lowry method, have disadvantages such as low sensitivity, complex operations, and easy interference. In recent years, with the continuous maturity of mass spectrometry (MS) technology, the use of mass spectrometry for determining protein content has become more common. As an analysis technology based on protein molecular weight, mass spectrometry has become one of the mainstream methods in the field of protein content determination due to its high sensitivity, high resolution, and high throughput.

 

The basic principle of determining protein content by mass spectrometry is to convert the protein sample into gaseous ions, and then use a mass spectrometer to perform mass analysis on the ions. The ion source in the mass spectrometer converts the protein sample into charged ions. These ions are separated under the action of an electric field and a magnetic field, and finally, the ion signal is detected by the detector to obtain the mass information of the protein.

 

There are many methods to choose from when using mass spectrometry to determine protein content, including commonly used MALDI-TOF-MS and ESI-MS. MALDI-TOF-MS is a mass spectrometry technology based on the principle of flight time, suitable for the analysis of proteins with larger molecular weights, and has the advantages of high sensitivity and rapid analysis. ESI-MS is a mass spectrometry technology based on electrospray ionization samples, suitable for high-throughput protein quantitative analysis, with high accuracy and sensitivity.

 

MtoZ Biolabs has established seven testing platforms, combined with various analysis platforms such as chromatography, spectroscopy, and biochemistry, to efficiently and accurately analyze the protein content of biological products. In addition, MtoZ Biolabs also provides other related services for the characterization of biological products.