Modified method for peptide mapping of collagen chains using cyanogen bromide-cleavage of protein within polyacrylamide gels.

A highly efficient method for cyanogen bromide (CNBr)-mapping of collagen peptides is described. This method was developed based on polypeptide cleavage by CNBr within gel slices according to Barsh et al. [1981) Collagen Relat. Res. 1, 543-548). The proposed method has the following advantages: (i) Analysis of both radiolabeled and unlabeled collagens is possible; (ii) CNBr-cleavage of polypeptides is performed in gel pieces which contain individual bands; (iii) The peptide losses are minimized, offering a more complete analysis of collagens including the low molecular weight CNBr-peptides.