An exciting milestone in palaeoproteomics

Luckily, the updated method called palaeoproteomics would reveal the DNA sequencing that stretched back farther in time than ever before. Cappellini stated that through mass spectrometry, the analysis of ancient proteins has enabled them to overcome limits. In this case, he was alluding to a sample of enamel that had become a perfect opportunity.

Still, it took them several years of investments and study for the DNA project to come to fruition. Cappellini’s co-author, Jesper Velgaard Olsen, collaborated with him in carefully extracting the material they needed from the enamel of the ancient tooth. Olsen simply put it by saying that this study is “an exciting milestone in palaeoproteomics.” The analysis of a sample starts with the demineralization of the tooth mineral matrix. Next, trypsin, an enzyme, is commonly used to extract and digest the protein residues into peptides, which can then be analyzed and purified.