To fulfill their biological functions, proteins must interact with their specific binding partners and often function as large assemblies composed of multiple proteins or proteins plus other biomolecules. Structural characterization of these complexes, including identification of all binding partners, their relative binding affinities, and complex topology, is integral for understanding function. Understanding how proteins assemble and how subunits in a complex interact is a cornerstone of structural biology. Here we report a native mass spectrometry (MS)-based method to characterize subunit interactions in globular protein complexes. We demonstrate that dissociation of protein complexes by surface collisions, at the lower end of the typical surface-induced dissociation (SID) collision energy range, consistently cleaves the weakest protein:protein interfaces, producing products that are reflective of the known structure. We present here combined results for multiple complexes as a training set, two validation cases, and four computational models. We show that SID appearance energies can be predicted from structures via a computationally derived expression containing three terms (number of residues in a given interface, unsatisfied hydrogen bonds, and a rigidity factor).protein complex | native mass spectrometry | protein interactions | structural biology | surface-induced dissociation N ative mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a powerful structural biology tool. By using "soft" ionization techniques such as nanoelectrospray ionization, noncovalent interactions can be retained, enabling the study of intact protein:protein, protein: ligand, and protein:RNA complexes in the gas phase (1-4). Native MS overcomes many of the barriers associated with traditional protein characterization methods; it requires low sample volumes (3-10 μL) and micromolar or lower concentrations, while also having a broad mass range for analysis, allowing study of small monomeric proteins up to large megadalton assemblies (1,5).Typical MS experiments to study subunit interactions of protein complexes involve first preparing the sample in an aqueous solution at near neutral pH, typically 100-200 mM ammonium acetate. The complex is then introduced intact into the mass spectrometer to measure the mass of the native complex. To obtain subunit connectivity information on the sample, the complex can be disrupted in solution, typically either with small volumes of organic solvent or through alteration of the ionic strength; this destabilizes the protein:protein interfaces and allows measurement of stable subcomplexes (6, 7). This approach, however, targets all species present in solution and can therefore be problematic for heterogeneous samples where it may not be possible to decipher which subcomplex came from which precursor. Alternatively, the complex can be isolated and then dissociated in the gas phase. The most commonly used dissociation method for such studies is collision-induced dissociation (CID). In CID protein ions are accelerated i...