Mass spectrometry-based tag and its application to high efficient peptide analysis – A review

Chemical derivatization is a very promising technique for improving analysis of peptides by mass spectrometry (MS). Thereinto, development of novel tags compatible with MS and/or MS/MS has always been the focus point of study. In this review, the recent reported tags for derivatization of thiol groups of cysteine, carboxyl groups, and amino groups on peptides as well as peptides with post-translational modifications (PTMs) are summarized. Moreover, the tags used for derivatization of glycans or oligosaccharides released from glycoproteins are also reviewed.