Ladder Sequencing of Peptides and Proteins—A Combination of Edman Degradation and Mass Spectrometry

Readout of an entire protein sequence from a mass spectrum, a high sample throughput, and the possibility of sequencing modified peptides or peptides containing unusual amino acids are the advantages of the combination of Edman degradation and mass spectrometry (MS). Fully automated sequencers based on this ladder sequencing technique would provide viable alternatives to the standard sequencers equipped with on‐line HPLC. This technique shows the potential of novel ionization and MS techniques for future protein analysis.