We have developed a new target plate for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). This target plate enables direct electric transfer of analytes from the 1-dimensional gel electrophoresis (1-DE) gel to the target plate in one step. Incorporated with a one-step direct transfer technique, this novel 1-DE/MALDI-MS (1-DE/MS) system eliminates staining, extracting, loading, and many other time-consuming intermediate processes, thereby greatly reducing analysis time while providing high throughput proteome analysis. Furthermore, in peptidome analysis, during the 1-DE step this system separates or removes the high molecular weight plasma proteins in blood and the various low molecular weight substances in tissue extracts, which interfere with mass spectrometry. This systemcan therefore be used for peptide profiling of any biological sample without special pretreatment. in view of these advantages, the 1-DE/MS system will greatly improve the usefulness of current peptidomic modalities in the discovery and validation of biomarker molecules in various body fluids and tissue extracts, permitting early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.