High-Throughput Sequencing of Peptoids and Peptide-Peptoid Hybrids by Partial Edman Degradation and Mass Spectrometry

A method for the rapid sequence determination of peptoids [oligo(N-substituted glycines)] and peptide-peptoid hybrids selected from one-bead-one-compound combinatorial libraries has been developed. In this method, beads carrying unique peptoid (or peptide-peptoid) sequences were subjected to multiple cycles of partial Edman degradation (PED) by treatment with a 1:3 (mol/mol) mixture of phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC) and 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (Fmoc-Cl) to generate a series of N-terminal truncation products for each resin-bound peptoid. After PED, the Fmoc group was removed from the N-terminus and any reacted side chains via piperidine treatment. The resulting mixture of the full-length peptoid and its truncation products was analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry, to reveal the sequence of the full-length peptoid. With a slight modification, the method was also effective in the sequence determination of peptide-peptoid hybrids. This rapid, high-throughput, sensitive, and inexpensive sequencing method should greatly expand the utility of combinatorial peptoid libraries in biomedical and materials research.