Patent ID: 7258775

Claim:
A method of qualitative or quantitative determination of a protein or peptide pattern of a liquid sample which has been derived from a human or animal body for monitoring a condition of the body, comprising the steps of: (a) establishing in a database a number of reference peptide patterns related to a condition of a human or animal body, said reference peptide patterns comprising at least a first peptide pattern and a second peptide pattern, the peptide patterns being defined by a list of signals comprising mass charge quotients; (b) separating the peptides or proteins of the liquid sample by capillary electrophoresis; (c) ionizing the peptides or proteins directly; (d) transferring the peptides or proteins to a mass spectrometer connected online via an interface for detection; (e) detecting qualitative or quantitative values of the protein or peptide pattern wherein more than 100 peptides or proteins are detected; (f) comparing the protein or peptide pattern detected with the reference peptide patterns in the database; and (g) automatically seeking for the protein or peptide pattern detected the reference peptide pattern in the database that most closely matches the detected protein or peptide pattern, wherein deviations or correspondences are used for evaluating the condition of the human or animal body.