Sodium 2-(4-hexylphenyl)diazene-1-sulfonate

4-Hexylphenylazosulfonate (Azo) is a photocleavable anionic surfactant developed by the Ge lab for use in high-throughput top-down and bottom-up proteomics by mass spectrometry (MS). Initially, the reagent showed a breakthrough as an improved method for top-down analysis [Brown et al. 2019]. Top-down analysis looks at intact proteins, while bottom-up analysis uses digested proteins. Of the two, top-down analysis is preferable for detecting post-translational modifications and sequence variations. Bottom-up is more commonly used and is likely to detect more proteins. This reagent was also shown to work for sample extraction that can be used for both top-down and bottom-up analysis on the same sample to maximize data collection[Brown et al. 2020].

Surfactants are required for protein extraction especially for challenging classes of protein including membrane proteins[Brown et al. 2020] and extracellular matrix proteins[Knott et al. 2020], but surfactants suppress the signal in MS. While removing a surfactant will improve the signal, this can cause protein loss and degradation. Azo allows for easy removal since it can be rapidly degraded using ultraviolet irradiation (λ_max = 305 nm). Using Azo in this way reduces protein loss and gives an improved signal. Please see the Ge lab publications for information on using this product [Brown et al. 2019, Brown et al. 2020, Knott et al. 2020, and Aballo et al. 2021].

Product can be used with our line of photoreactors: Including Penn PhD (Z744035) & SynLED 2.0 (Z744080)

PCT/US2019/035447