Wings for Molecular Elephants and the Beginnings of Proteomics

800 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer (University of Illinols-Chicago, Center for Structural Biology) 

MALDI Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/ionization 

Schematic representation of MALDI (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization) in conjunction with mass spectromety. A protein salt is mixed into a matrix that is subjected to pulsed laser beams. Small volumes of matrix-bound proteins are aerosolized and stripped of matrix molecules under high vacuum. 

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