Immobilised metal affinity chromatography for the analysis of proteins and peptides

Immobilised metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) has become an established purification procedure for the selective isolation of proteins, peptides and post-translationally modified peptides, using a wide range of metal ions, including Cu(II), Fe(III) and Ga(III). Recently, the potential of interfacing capillary IMAC with mass spectrometry has been explored. This article reviews the development and use of IMAC in protein/peptide analysis, highlighting the benefits of capillary columns and their application to IMAC based enrichment.