Peptide Selection for Accurate Targeted Protein Quantification via a Dimethylation High-Resolution Mass Spectrum Strategy with a Peptide Release Kinetic Model

A crucial step in accurate targeted protein quantification using targeted proteomics is to determine optimal proteotypic peptides representing targeted proteins. In this study, a workflow of peptide selection to determine proteotypic peptides using a dimethylation high-resolution mass spectrum strategy with a peptide release kinetic model was investigated and applied in peptide selection of bovine serum albumin. After specificity, digestibility, recovery, and stability evaluation of tryptic peptides in bovine serum albumin, the optimal proteotypic peptide was selected as LVNELTEFAK. The quantification method using LVNELTEFAK gave a linear range of 1-100 ppm with the coefficient greater than 0.9990, and the detection limit of bovine serum albumin in milk was 0.78 mg/kg. Compared with the proteotypic peptides selected by Skyline, the method showed a better performance in method validation. The workflow exhibited high comprehensiveness and efficiency in peptide selection, facilitating accurate targeted protein quantification in the food matrix, which lack protein standards.