Top-down proteomics-a near-future technique for clinical diagnosis?

We thank Dr. Laszlo Prokai, Dr. Jae-Seok Kim, and Dr. Hyun Sik Kim for their insightful editorial commentaries on our recent publication “ Diagnosis of hemoglobinopathy and β-thalassemia by 21 Tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry of hemoglobin from blood ” (1-3). As described by the editorial authors, 21 Tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (21 T FT-ICR MS) and top-down MS/MS set a new benchmark for precision diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies and thalassemia with fast sample preparation (dilute and infuse) and data acquisition (3 min).