Mass Spectrometry and Computational Studies of Deprotonated Substituted Peptides

在化学系化学测量和成像计划的支持下，Carolyn Cassady教授和David Dixon教授及其团队将利用质谱学和计算技术研究去质子化氨基酸、它们的酰胺和多肽的气相反应和解离化学。主要关注容易去质子化的酸性残基，如磷酸化丝氨酸、酪氨酸和苏氨酸，以及天冬氨酸和谷氨酸。总的目标是增加对去质子肽的裂解机制、离子结构和酸碱性质的了解，以便寻求通过负离子质谱学对多肽进行排序的蛋白质组学研究人员将拥有坚实的基础信息，以此作为他们工作的基础。这项研究将进一步开发利用负离子模式串联质谱学分析多肽的新方法，特别强调用于酸性多肽测序的电子解离技术。该项目使不同群体的研究生和本科生接触到重要的跨学科研究领域，为他们提供工具，帮助他们为广泛的蛋白质组学和化学生物学挑战做出贡献。这两个团体还积极参与外展活动，如阿拉巴马大学基于计算机的荣誉计划和阿拉巴马州高级仪器技术研讨会，使大量学生接触到他们实验室中使用的强大计算和分析工具。

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Carolyn Cassady and Professor David Dixon and their groups will study the gas-phase reactive and dissociative chemistry of deprotonated amino acids, their amides, and peptides by mass spectrometry and computational techniques. The primary focus will be on acidic residues that readily deprotonate, such as phosphorylated serine, tyrosine, and threonine, as well as aspartic acid and glutamic acid. An overall goal is to increase the knowledge of deprotonated peptide fragmentation mechanisms, ion structures, and acid/base properties so that proteomics researchers seeking to sequence peptides by negative ion mass spectrometry will have a strong foundation of fundamental information upon which to base their work. This research will further the development of new methods of analysis of peptides using negative ion mode tandem mass spectrometry, with particular emphasis being placed on electron-based dissociation techniques for sequencing acidic peptides.This project exposes a diverse group of both graduate and undergraduate students to important interdisciplinary research areas, providing them with tools that will prepare them to contribute to a wide range of proteomic and chemical biology challenges. Both groups are also been actively engaged in outreach activities, such as the University of Alabama Computer Based Honors Program and the Alabama Advanced Instrumental Techniques Colloquium, which expose large numbers of students to the powerful computational and analytical tools utilized in their laboratories.