Designed macroporous nanoreactors for mass spectrometry based analysis of membrane proteins

A novel multifunctional nanoreactor was designed for highly efficient detection and profiling of membrane proteins using macroporous siliceous foams (MSF) with large pore size of ~ 70 nm and hydrophobic surface (contact angle over 100°). By introducing organo groups (e. g. from bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane) on the surface of MSF, the modified material was employed for selective extraction and in situ tryptic digestion of membrane proteins coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) based profiling in biological samples. The optimized nanoreactor was selected in detection of a standard membrane protein (bacteriorhodopsin) and further applied to Hela cell lysates yielding 112 membrane proteins identified. Our nanoreactors shed light on MS analysis of membrane proteins towards biomarkers discovery and clinical diagnostics.