Mass Spectrometry In-Depth Focus 2019

Included in this issue:

• Identification of peptides and proteins in suspected illegal medicinal products using MALDI-TOF-MS
  Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) has proven to be an excellent technique for identification of illegally distributed peptides and proteins for human use. The identification of proteins is mainly based on peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) – ie, the bottom-up approach – while the small proteins and peptides can be identified through the top-down approach. This paper reports on the application of MALDI for the identification of human growth hormone, melanotan II and delta sleep-inducing peptide.
• Open data policies in proteomics are starting to revolutionise the field
  High-throughput mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics approaches have developed enormously in recent years and are continuing to do so. The current trend sees proteomics being used by academia and industry to tackle intricate biological questions, often in conjunction with other high-throughput “omics” disciplines such as genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics. Within the pharmaceutical industry, proteomics has proved to be a valuable platform for protein-based biomarker discovery as well as for target identification and validation.