A universal SI-traceable isotope dilution mass spectrometry method for protein quantitation in a matrix by tandem...

Isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS), an important metrological method, is widely used for absolute quantification of peptides and proteins. IDMS employs an isotope-labeled peptide or protein as an internal standard although the use of a protein provides improved accuracy. Generally, the isotope-labeled protein is obtained by stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) technology. However, SILAC is expensive, laborious, and time-consuming. To overcome these drawbacks, a novel universal SI-traceable IDMS method for absolute quantification of proteins in a matrix is described with human transferrin (hTRF). The hTRF and a human serum sample were labeled with different tandem mass tags (TMTs). After mixing the TMT-labeled hTRF and serum sample together followed by digestion, the peptides were separated by nano-liquid chromatography and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Using the signature peptides, we calculated the ratios of reporter ions from the TMT-labeled peptides which, in turn, allowed determination of the mass fraction of hTRF. The recovery ranged from 97% to 105% with a CV of 3.9%. The LOD and LOQ were 1.71 × 10(-5) g/g and 5.69 × 10(-5) g/g of hTRF in human serum, respectively, and the relative expanded uncertainty was 4.7% with a mass fraction of 2.08 mg/g. For comparison, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method for hTRF yielded a mass fraction of 2.03 mg/g. This method provides a starting point for establishing IDMS technology to accurately determine the mass fractions of protein biomarkers in a matrix with traceability to SI units. This technology should support the development of a metrological method useful for quantification of a wide variety of proteins.