"Low-Abundance Proteome Discovery" addresses the most critical challenge in biomarker discovery and progress: the identification of low-abundance proteins. The book describes an original strategy developed by the authorsthat permits the detection of protein species typically found in very low abundance and that may yield valuable clues to future discoveries. Known as combinatorial peptide ligand libraries, these new methodologies are one of the hottest topics related to the study of proteomics and have applications in medical diagnostics, food quality, and plant analysis. The book is written for university and industry scientists starting proteomic studies of complex matrices (e.g., biological fluids, biopsies, recalcitrant plant tissues, foodstuff, and beverage analysis), researchers doing wet chemistry, and graduate-level students in the areas of analytical and biochemistry, biology, and genetics.
Covers methodologies for enhancing the visibility of low-abundance proteins which, until now, has been the biggest challenge in biomarker progressIncludes detailed protocols that address real-life needs in laboratory practiceAddresses all applications, including human disease, food and beverage safety, and the discovery of new proteins/peptides of importance in nutraceuticsCompiles the research and analytic protocols of the two scientists who are credited with the discovery of these landmark methodologies, also known as combinatorial peptide ligand libraries, for the identification of low-abundance proteins"

The book deals with the theory and practice of all electrophoretic steps leading to proteome analysis, i.e. isoelectric focusing (including immobilized pH gradients), sodium dodecyl sulphate electrophoresis (SADS-PAGE) and finally two-dimensional maps. It is a reasoned collection of all modern, relevant, up-to-date methodologies leading to successful fractionation, analysis and characterization of every polypeptide spot in 2-D map analysis. It includes chapters on the most sophisticated mass spectrometry developments and it helps the reader in navigating through the most important databases in proteome analysis, including step by step tours in selected sites. Yet, this book's unique strength and feature is the fact that it combines not only practice (in common with any other book on this topic) but also theory, by giving a detailed treatment on the most advanced theoretical treatments of steady-state techniques, such as isoelectric focusing and immobilized pH gradients. A lot of this theory is newly developed and presented to the public for the first time. Thus, this book should satisfy not only the needs of every day practitioners, but also the desires of the most advanced theoreticians in the field, who will surely appreciate the novel theories presented here.
Also the methodological section contains several as yet unpublished protocols, correcting some of the existing ones and showing the pitfall and limitations of even well ingrained protocols in proteome analysis, which are here critically re-evaluated for the first time.