Magnetic polymer nanomaterials for sample pretreatment in proteomics

Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) play important roles in the regulation of protein functions and cellular processes, which cannot be easily analyzed due to a large number of obstacles, such as the substoichiometric level of PTM proteins, the diversity and complexity of PTM proteins, and the high-intensity interference from ordinary proteins. Therefore, the selective and effective separation of trace amounts of PTM peptides from complex samples is the first crucial step for PTMs. In order to meet the aforesaid requirements, magnetic polymer nanomaterials have emerged as highly effective agents for sample pretreatment in PTM proteomics. In the present review, the recent design of magnetic polymer nanomaterials and their applications in two typical types of protein PTMs (glycosylation and phosphorylation) are summarized. In addition, the development trend of magnetic polymer nanomaterials in PTM proteomics is discussed.