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To combat infection, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster responds by rapid synthesis of a series of immune-induced molecules reported as Drosophila immune-induced molecules (DIMs). Characterization of the primary structure of the DIMs is required to establish their exact function. In order to get such information, previous studies on the elucidation of primary structures of the DIMs were developed using a methodology combining matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), enzymatic digestion and Edman degradation. Nevertheless, some of the DIMs were resistant to classical Edman sequencing. Therefore, mass spectrometry was used to characterize the primary structure of one of the DIMs, namely the N-blocked DIM13 peptide. The complete sequence of DIM13 was established by means of a strategy of nano-electrospray …