Practical Protein Chemistry - A. Darbre 1989

The latest methods for solid-phase and liquid-phase amino acid sequence determination
Introduction

J. K. INMAN (Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20205, U.S.A.), E. APPELLA (Laboratory of Cell Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20205, U.S.A.)

For many years, the stream of publications concerning novel approaches to amino acid sequencing and proposals for improving existing methodologies has been relentless. For the uninitiated researcher—often pressed for time and not a specialist in this niche field—it is usually difficult to judge whether a new technique is a fully developed, ready-to-use Procedure or merely an enticing yet "raw" idea that will ultimately demand substantial refinement upon Structure/175.html">Implementation. Understandably, the authors of breakthrough papers are enthusiastic and tend to overstate the merits of their developments. This chapter outlines our Perspectives on the latest methodologies and concepts; we hope this Overview will help newcomers avoid frustration and prove useful to more experienced researchers who urgently need Specific Methods whose practical value is not yet fully apparent. In addition, we outline our specific criteria for underdeveloped techniques and emerging concepts with the aim of stimulating innovative methodological research.