An automated system for CE-MALDI and on-target digestion under a fluorocarbon lid applied on spermatophore proteins from Pieris napi.

A method for off-line CE-MALDI-TOF-MS and MS, and on-target digestion under a fluorocarbon lid was developed and applied for the analysis of proteins in the spermatophore of the butterfly Pieris napi. Fractionation revealed many peptides otherwise not detected or resolved. Automated fractionation was performed with an in-lab developed robotic system, and automated on-target tryptic digestion under a fluorocarbon lid was demonstrated with the same system. Fractionation onto a pre-structured MALDI-concentration plate facilitated aligned deposition of trypsin and MALDI-matrix with the deposited sample, also under the fluorocarbon lid. Some indications of indigenous proteolysis of spermatophore proteins were seen, and searching MS spectra suggested three tentative sequence homologies to P. rapae. The study demonstrates the functionality of the lab-made robot. Detailed manufacturing instructions and code are provided. The feasibility of automated on-target digestion under a fluorocarbon lid, and the usefulness of a structured concentration plate in CE-MALDI fractionation was shown. Further, it constitutes a preliminary study of P. napi spermatophore proteins.