Through discussions with other members of the Early Researcher Committee of the Consortium for Top-down Proteomics, we identified significant barriers to entry for new practitioners of top-down proteomics and native protein mass spectrometry.

Recognizing these commonly encountered challenges, we seek to develop a community resource for those trying to navigate the top-down universe. As a living knownledgebase, we hope that TopDownVerse will adapt with the ever-changing technological landscape of protein analytical chemistry.

We've identified a few initial areas of focus:

1. Theory of top-down mass spectrometry
2. Sample preparation
3. Protein separations
4. Mass spectrometry instrumentation
5. Acquisition
6. Mass deconvolution
7. Search and false discovery control
8. Quantification
9. Native vs denatured
10. Imaging MS
11. Common application areas
    • Antibodies
    • Histone
    • Ribosomes
    • Viral particles

That said, we welcome additional input from the community either by email or creating an Issue on Github.