Quantification of Protein Glycosylation Using Nanopores

Nano Lett. 2022 Jul 13;22(13):5357-5364. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01338. Epub 2022 Jun 29.

Abstract

Although nanopores can be used for single-molecule sequencing of nucleic acids using low-cost portable devices, the characterization of proteins and their modifications has yet to be established. Here, we show that hydrophilic or glycosylated peptides translocate too quickly across FraC nanopores to be recognized. However, high ionic strengths (i.e., 3 M LiCl) and low pH (i.e., pH 3) together with using a nanopore with a phenylalanine at its constriction allows the recognition of hydrophilic peptides, and to distinguish between mono- and diglycosylated peptides. Using these conditions, we devise a nanopore method to detect, characterize, and quantify post-translational modifications in generic proteins, which is one of the pressing challenges in proteomic analysis.

Keywords: nanopore spectrometry; protein glycosylation; proteomics; rhamnosylation; single molecule.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Glycosylation
  • Nanopores*
  • Nanotechnology
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Proteins
  • Proteomics

Substances

  • Peptides
  • Proteins