A magnetic nanofiber-based zwitterionic hydrophilic material for the selective capture and identification of glycopeptides

Nanoscale. 2019 Jun 6;11(22):10952-10960. doi: 10.1039/c9nr01441a.

Abstract

High-performance affinity materials are highly required in the sample preparation process in mass spectrometry-based glycoproteomics studies. In this research, a novel magnetic nanofiber-based zwitterionic hydrophilic material is prepared for glycopeptide enrichment and identification. The one-dimensional hydroxyapatite nanofiber (HN) acted as the supporting substance for immobilizing both Fe3O4 nanoparticles and Au nanoparticles, following the surface modification with a zwitterionic tripeptide l-glutathione (GSH) via the affinity interactions between the thiol group in GSH and both Au and Fe3O4 to form the magHN/Au-GSH nanofiber. Owing to the unique structural features, excellent hydrophilicity, abundant zwitterionic molecules, and strong magnetic responsiveness, the as-prepared magHN/Au-GSH nanofiber possesses satisfactory specificity for glycopeptide enrichment. As a result, the magHN/Au-GSH nanofiber demonstrated great detection sensitivity (2 fmol), satisfying enrichment recovery (89.65%), large binding capacity (100 mg g-1), and high enrichment selectivity (1 : 100) toward glycopeptides. Furthermore, 246 N-glycosylated peptides corresponding to 104 N-glycosylated proteins were identified from only 1 μL human serum, revealing the great potential of this affinity nanofiber for glycopeptide enrichment and glycoproteomics research.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cattle
  • Chickens
  • Glycopeptides* / chemistry
  • Glycopeptides* / isolation & purification
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Magnetite Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Nanofibers / chemistry*

Substances

  • Glycopeptides
  • Magnetite Nanoparticles
  • Gold