<figcaption>A simple, quantitative method to identify glycans in plasma: Mass excess distribution of tryptic peptides is mapped as a function of monoisotopic mass. Red: highly populated areas; blue: unpopulated areas; black squares: mass excesses of glycans. Credit: courtesy of Michael Bereman, Taufika Williams, and David Muddiman, North Carolina State University</figcaption>
A simple, quantitative method to identify glycans in plasma: Mass excess distribution of tryptic peptides is mapped as a function of monoisotopic mass. Red: highly populated areas; blue: unpopulated areas; black squares: mass excesses of glycans. Credit: courtesy of Michael Bereman, Taufika Williams, and David Muddiman, North Carolina State University

Researcher:
David Muddiman, professor of chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh

Project:
Profiling O-linked glycans as biomarkers in patients with ovarian cancer

Problem:
Developing the chemistry to efficiently cleave O-linked glycans from their peptides in complex biofluids.

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Solution:
After a year of effort, Muddiman has finally figured out how to adapt a standard chemical process called beta-elimination to clip O-linked glycans from proteins in biological fluids ( J Proteome Res, in press). Following purification, he then analyzes these using high-end mass spectrometers to...

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