Correct Charge State Assignment of Native Electrospray Spectra of Protein Complexes

Correct charge state assignment is crucial to assigning an accurate mass to supramolecular complexes analyzed by electrospray mass spectrometry. Conventional charge state assignment techniques fall short of reliably and unambiguously predicting the correct charge state for many supramolecular complexes. We provide an explanation of the shortcomings of the conventional techniques and have developed a robust charge state assignment method that is applicable to all spectra.

Graphical AbstractSome spectra of native electrospray contain ions that produce variant masses. This invalidates the uses of conventional charge state assignment methods. Robust methods are presented.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (247 K)Download as PowerPoint slide