Titanium dioxide as a chemo-affinity solid phase in offline phosphopeptide chromatography prior to HPLC-MS/MS analysis

Nat Protoc. 2007;2(5):1059-69. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2006.280. Epub 2006 Dec 14.

Abstract

We have developed a new offline chromatographic approach for the selective enrichment of phosphorylated peptides that is directly compatible with subsequent analysis by online nano electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. In this technique, a titanium dioxide (TiO2)-packed pipette tip is used as a phosphopeptide trap that acts as an offline first-dimension separation step in a two-dimensional chromatography system. This is followed by online nano reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Here, we present suitable methods for enrichment, optimized separately for each step: sample loading, washing and elution from the TiO2-filled tips. To increase the trapping selectivity of the TiO2 column, we used the sodium salt of 1-octanesulfonic acid combined with 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid as ion-pairing agents and displacers for acidic peptides. These agents also improve the binding of phosphorylated peptides and block the binding of non-phosphorylated ones. This enrichment procedure takes 30 min, followed by a 100-min HPLC program, including washing and an elution gradient.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chromatography / methods*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Phosphopeptides / chemistry
  • Phosphopeptides / isolation & purification*
  • Solid Phase Extraction / methods*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry
  • Titanium / chemistry*

Substances

  • Phosphopeptides
  • titanium dioxide
  • Titanium