Post-translational Modifications (PTM's) - During or following the translation of the oligonucleotide message into an amino acid sequence, numerous processing events occur to confer biological activity. These can include the formation of disulphide bridges, cleavage of signal peptides, covalent modifications etc., modifications which “activate” the protein to perform its function. These changes in the primary (covalent) structure of the Protein are generally NOT predictable from the gene sequence. So it is imperative to study the expressed protein product to detect these modifications.
M-Scan has developed strategies based on mass spectrometry and MS peptide mapping to detect and identify a wide range of co- and post-translational modifications, including acetylation, phosphorylation, sulphation etc and, perhaps most importantly for biopharmaceutical products, glycosylation.
M-Scan Brochure: Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Analysis (8pp.)