Proteomic analysis with integrated multiple dimensional liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry based on elution of ion exchange column using pH steps

A novel integrated multidimensional liquid chromatography (IMDL) method is demonstrated for the separation of peptide mixtures by two-dimensional HPLC coupled with ion trap mass spectrometry. The method uses an integrated column, containing both strong cation exchange and reversed-phase sections for two-dimensional liquid chromatography. The peptide mixture was fractionated by a pH step using a series of pH buffers, followed by reversed-phase chromatography. Since no salt was used during separation, the integrated multidimensional liquid chromatography can be directly connected to mass spectrometry for peptide analysis. The pH buffers were injected from an autosampler, and the entire process can be carried out on a one-dimensional liquid chromatography system. In a single analysis, the IMDL system, coupled with linear ion trap mass spectrometry, identified more than 2000 proteins in mouse liver. The peptides were eluted according to their pi distribution. The resolution of the pH fractionation is similar to 0.5 pH unit. The method has low overlapping across pH fractions, good resolution of peptide mixture, and good correlation of peptide pIs with pH steps. This method provides a technique for large-scale protein identification using existing one-dimensional HPLC systems.