Following the succesful publication of "Proteome and Protein Analysis" in 2000, which was based on a former MPSA (Methods in Protein Structure Analysis) conference, Methods in Proteome and Protein Analysis presents the most interesting papers from the 14th MPSA meeting.

Major topics include: protein and peptide sample preparation and separation; new reagent for protein sequence analysis; mass spectrometry in protein research; analysis of posttranslational modification; protein-protein interaction using MALDI-MS; manipulation of genome or functional compositon trap; structure-function correlation study using optical biosensors of microcolorimetrical techniques; structural proteomics as NMR or fluorescence polarization study; the classification and prediction of structure or functional sites; in silico analysis of proteins and proteomes; increasing throughput and data quality for proteomics.

"Protein Structure Analysis - Preparation and Characterization" is a compilation of practical approaches to the structural analysis of proteins and peptides. Here, about 20 authors describe and comment on techniques for sensitive protein purification and analysis. These methods are used worldwide in biochemical and biotechnical research currently being carried out in pharmaceu tical and biomedical laboratories or protein sequencing facilities. The chapters have been written by scientists with extensive ex perience in these fields, and the practical parts are well documen ted so that the reader should be able to easily reproduce the described techniques. The methods compiled in this book were demonstrated in student courses and in the EMBO Practical Course on "Microsequence Analysis of Proteins" held in Berlin September 10-15, 1995. The topics also derived from a FEBS Workshop, held in Halkidiki, Thessaloniki, Greece, in April, 1995. Most of the authors participated in these courses as lecturers and tutors and made these courses extremely lively and successful. Since polypeptides greatly vary depending on their specific structure and function, strategies for their structural analysis must for the most part be adapted to each individual protein. Therefore, advantages and limitations of the experimen tal approaches are discussed here critically, so that the reader becomes familiar with problems that might be encountered."