文摘
Microcolumn liquid chromatography (LC) was interfacedwith matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) for separationand identification of peptides present in single neuronsfrom the brain of the snail Lymnaea stagnalis.Thenanoliter microcolumn LC effluent, mixed off-line withnanoliter matrix solution, was deposited onto the sampletarget every 60 s, producing fractions of approximately145 nL in volume, which, upon drying, produced spotsof approximately 1 mm in size. At the end of thechromatographic separation, fractions from the sampletarget were scanned by MALDI-TOF-MS. Identificationof peptide peaks was achieved on the basis of LC elutionorder and mass information. Further identificationbasedon sequence information was carried out for a nativepeptide fractionated by microcolumn LC from a singleneuron with the postsource decay technique.