Abstract
The reagent 1-dimethylaminonaphthalene-5-sulfonyl chloride (dansyl chloride, DNS-C1) reacts with the free amino groups of peptides and proteins as shown in Fig. 1. Total acid hydrolysis of the substituted peptide or protein yields a mixture of free amino acids plus the dansyl derivative of the N-terminal amino acid, the bond between the dansyl group and the N-terminal amino acid being resistant to acid hydrolysis. The dansyl amino acid is fluorescent under UV light and is identified by thin-layer chromatography on polyamide sheets. This is an extremely sensitive method for identifying amino acids and in particular has found considerable use in peptide sequence determination when used in conjunction with the Edman degradation (see Chapter 90). The dansyl technique was originally introduced by Gray and Hartley (1), and was developed essentially for use with peptides. However, the method can also be applied to proteins (see Note 1).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Gray, W. R. and Hartley, B. S. (1963) A fluorescent end group reagent for peptides and proteins. Biochem. J. 89, 59P.
Sutton, M. R. and Bradshaw, R. A. (1978) Identification of dansyl dipeptides. Anal. Biochem. 88, 344–346.
Gray, W. R. (1967) in Methods in Enzymology, vol. XI (Hirs, C. H. W., ed.), Academic, New York, p. 149.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Walker, J.M. (1996). The Dansyl Method for Identifying N-Terminal Amino Acids. In: Walker, J.M. (eds) The Protein Protocols Handbook. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-259-9_89
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-259-9_89
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-0-89603-338-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-259-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive