Application of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and hydrogen exchange combined with enzymatic digestion for the structural characterization of antimalaric Spf66 peptide.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used in hydrogen exchange studies, exchanging deuteron (H/D) or proton (D/H), to determine the structure and conformational changes of antimalarial Spf66 synthetic peptide in its monomeric and dimeric forms. The accuracy of both analytical methods was assessed along with their suitability to study structural aspects. The results via these two approaches were in agreement, indicating that the dimer presents segments of secondary structure. In this last case, the combination of both methods with enzymatic digestion with pepsin was used in their identification. Although 100% coverage of Spf66 dimer was not observed, the higher levels of deuteration were observed for fragments located in the chain terminal where the structure may be more flexible, while the fragments near the disulfide bonds, which is, in theory, the more rigid region of the molecule, were not detected. This strategy is significantly time saving and allows rapid screening and help to characterize a protein, especially, when no prior structural information is available. However, a single spectrum is not certainly sufficient to obtain structural data; it is just an experimental limitation. Also, changes in peptide structure after storage at different temperatures and time were observed, which lead to a loss in the secondary structure as determined by circular dicroism measurements and an increase in aggregation products, since the trimer and tetramer species were detected by mass spectrometry.