ABSTRACT
Until 1988, the mass spectrometric analysis of peptides and proteins was difficult. Some results were achieved using (continuous-flow) fast-atom bombardment (FAB) and 252Cf plasma desorption. The major breakthrough in the characterization of proteins by mass spectrometry (MS) is due to the introduction of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) in 1988. Currently, peptides and proteins form the compound class most intensively studied by MS. This is primarily due to the prominent role ESI-MS and MALDI-MS play in the field of proteomics.
