Pitfalls in Poteomics: Avoiding Problems That Can Occur Before Data Acquisition Begins

ABSTRACT

The analysis of peptides using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for proteomics applications is powerful and can yield tremendously rich data sets. However, the exquisite sensitivity and global applicability of MS detection also makes it prone to contaminants that can easily and seriously compromise the quality of a data set. A short list of tips and tricks can increase the likelihood of consistently producing good LC-MS data in this context and streamline the troubleshooting process when problems do eventually occur.