177 results about "Protease digestion" patented technology

Methods, compositions, kits, and apparatus are provided wherein the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase system is used to analyze amino acids. The method allows very small devices for quantitative or semi-quantitative analysis of the amino acids in samples or in sequential or complete proteolytic digestions. The methods can be readily applied to the detection and / or quantitation of one or more primary amino acids by using cognate aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase and cognate tRNA. The basis of the method is that each of the 20 synthetases and / or a tRNA specific for a different amino acid is separated spatially or differentially labeled. The reactions catalyzed by all 20 synthetases may be monitored simultaneously, or nearly simultaneously, or in parallel. Each separately positioned synthetase or tRNA will signal its cognate amino acid. The synthetase reactions can be monitored using continuous spectroscopic assays. Alternatively, since elongation factor Tu:GTP (EF-Tu:GTP) specifically binds all AA−tRNAs, the aminoacylation reactions catalyzed by the synthetases can be monitored using ligand assays. Microarrays and microsensors for amino acid analysis are provided. Additionally, amino acid analysis devices are integrated with protease digestions to produce miniaturized enzymatic sequenators capable of generating either N- or C-terminal sequence and composition data for a protein or peptide. The possibility of parallel processing of many samples in an automated manner is discussed.

A method for quantitating vitamin D metabolites directly in blood plasma or serum, without the need for prior purification of the vitamin D metabolites, comprising a digestion of the serum proteins with a serine protease such as proteinase K and sequence of steps for inhibiting the proteinase K activity in the competitive binding analysis. The advantages of this method are its high accuracy over the whole range of physiologically relevant values and that it can be easily adapted for a fully automated analysis of serum and plasma samples.

The present invention provides for novel reagents whose fluorescence increases in the presence of particular proteases. The reagents comprise a characteristically folded peptide backbone conjugated to two fluorophores such that the fluorophores are located opposite sides of a cleavage site. When the folded peptide is cleaved, as by digestion with a protease, the fluorophores provide a high intensity fluorescent signal at a visible wavelength. Because of their high specificity and their high fluorescence signal in the visible wavelengths, these protease indicators are particularly well suited for detection of protease activity in biological samples, in particular in frozen tissue sections. Thus this invention also provides for methods of detecting protease activity in situ in frozen sections.

The present invention relates to a method for phosphorylation site-specific labeling of phosphoproteome with a site-specific tagging reagent and analyzing of the resulting labeled one, more especially, a method for in-situ tagging of phosphorylation sites of phosphoproteins retained in polymeric gel with a nucleophilic tagging reagent. It also relates a method for generating new proteolytic cleavable sites at formerly phosphorylation sites by a proper choice of a nucleophilic tagging reagent. It also relates to a method for phosphopeptides analysis and phosphorylation site identification by in-gel digestion of the previously in-gel tagged proteins and subsequent mass analysis of the resulting peptides. The invention provides in-gel chemical tagging method for phosphoaminoacid residue of phosphoproteins retained in polymeric gel matrix. Phosphoprotein can be immobilized into gel matrix by a variety of methods such as gel electrophoresis. The immobilized phosphoproteins are retained in gel matrix during tagging reaction to phosphorylated aminoacid residue of phosphoproteins, and the resulting tagged proteins are also retained in gel matrix till following purification steps like washing of the tagging reagents are accomplished. The tagged proteins is digested by protease, and the resulting digested peptides is released from gel into solution and applied for peptide mass analysis.