Nonionic, redox-cleavable surfactant for mass spectrometry-based proteomics and structural biological applications

A method for analyzing a compound comprising the steps of:

• a) mixing the compound with a chemically-cleavable surfactant in a solution until the compound is dissolved in the solution, wherein the chemically-cleavable surfactant comprises:
• i) a hydrophilic head, ii) a hydrophobic tail, and iii) a cleavable disulfide bond covalently linking the hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail, where the cleavable disulfide bond is able to release the hydrophilic head, release the hydrophobic tail, and/or break apart upon exposure to collisional energy during mass spectrometry;
• b) exposing the solution containing the chemically-cleavable surfactant and dissolved compound to collisional energy or electron based fragmentation within a mass spectrometer device, thereby decomposing the chemically-cleavable surfactant;
• and
• c) performing mass spectrometry (MS) analysis on a portion of the exposed solution containing the compound.