Methods For Protein Analysis

As protein science continues to become an increasingly important aspect of academic and commercial sciences and technology, the need has arisen for a ready source of laboratory protocols for the analysis and evaluation of these biological polymers. Methods for Protein Analysis presents the methods most relevant to the generalist bench scientist working with proteins. A concise yet thorough summary, it covers laboratory methods that can be reasonably performed in a standard protein laboratory, without specialized equipment or expertise. Taking a how to approach, this book examines the techniques used to answer common protein analytical questions and describes methods useful in daily laboratory work. Methods for Protein Analysis is the ideal reference for protein laboratories in academic, government and industrial settings. It is an essential benchtop manual for first-year graduate students beginning their laboratory experience as well as for chemists, biochemists, and molecular biologists in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological, food and specialty chemical industries, and for analysts concerned with the purity and structural integrity of protein. Featuring illustrations and a convenient spiral binding, this guide offers a glossary of common abbreviations and a list of suppliers for protein science.

Much of the recent spectacular progress in the biological sciences can be at tributed ot the ability to isolate, analyze, and structurally characterize proteins and peptides which are present in cells and cellular organelles in only very small amounts. Recent advances in protein chemistry and in particular the application of new micromethods have led to fruitful advances in the understanding of basic cellular processes. Areas where protein-chemical studies have resulted in interest ing discoveries include the peptide hormones and their release factors, growth factors and oncogenes, bioenergetics, proton pumps and ion pumps and chan nels, topogenesis and protein secretion, molecular virology and immunology, membrane protein analysis, and receptor research. In fact, the key methods are now on hand to unravel many of the major outstanding problems of molecular biology and in particular questions of fundamental interest which relate to devel opmental biology and specificity in cell-cell interaction. In this volume we have assembled descriptions of procedures which have re cently been shown to be efficaceous for the isolation, purification, and chemical characterization of proteins and peptides that are only available in minute amounts. Emphasis is placed on well-established micromethods which have been tested and found useful in many laboratories by experienced investigators. The chapters are written by specialists, and describe a range of sensitive techniques which can be used by researchers working in laboratories with only modest resources and equipment.

This book is designed to be a practical progression of experimental techniques an investigator may follow when embarking on a biochemical project. The protocols may be performed in the order laid out or may be used inde pendently. The aim of the book is to assist a wide range of researchers. from the novice to the frustrated veteran, in the choice and design of experiments that are to be performed to provide answers to specific questions. The manual describes standard techniques that have been shown to work, as well as some newer ones that are beginning to prove important. By following the promi nently numbered steps. you can work your way through any protocol. whether it's a new technique or a task you've done before for which you need a quick review or updated methodology. This manual will assist the experimentalist in designing properly controlled experiments. There will be no advice for dealing with specific pieces of equip ment other than encouragement to read the manual, if you can find it. Through out all manipulations try to be objective. Be on the lookout for unexpected findings. You will learn the most from unexpected results. and they are often the beginning of the next project. It is never possible to record too much in your lab notebook. Do not get discouraged. Remember, things will not always run smoothly.

The MPSA international conference is held in a different country every two years. It is devoted to methods of determining protein structure with emphasis on chemistry and sequence analysis. Until the ninth conference, MPSA was an acronym for Methods in Protein Sequence Analysis. To give the conference more flexibility and breadth, the Scientific Advisory Committee of the lOth MPSA decided to change the name to Methods in Protein Structure Analysis; however, the emphasis remains on "methods" and on "chemistry. " In fact, this is the only major conference that is devoted to methods. The MPSA conference is truly international, a fact clearly reflected by the composi tion of its Scientific Advisory Committee. The Scientific Advisory Committee oversees the scientific direction of the MPSA and elects the chairman of the conference. Members of the committee are elected by active members, based on scientific standing and activity. The chairman, subject to approval of the Scientific Advisory Committee, appoints the Organizing Committee. It is this latter committee that puts the conference together. The lectures of the MPSA have traditionally been published in a special proceedings issue. This is different from, and more detailed than, the special MPSA issue of the Journal of Protein Chemistry in which only a brief description of the talks is given in short papers and abstracts. In the I Oth MPSA, about half the talks are by invited speakers and the remainder were selected from submitted short papers and abstracts.

The methods found here are drawn from such popular laboratory manuals as "Proteins and Proteomics" and "Purifying Proteins for Proteomics." This volume contains an essential collection of purification methods using gel electrophoresis and column chromatography.