**Meet the editor**

Dr Ahmad is working as Associate Professor of Biochemistry in Human Function group at Oman Medical College, Oman. He received his MPhil and PhD from Faculty of Medicine, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. He worked as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, SBS Post Graduate Institute, Dehradun, India from 2004 - 2010. During this peri-

od, more than 30 students have completed their Post Graduate dissertation under his supervision. He had published several research papers in international journals of repute. The focus of his research has been on Protein and Nucleic acid modification and their role in autoimmune disorders.

## Contents

#### **Preface** XI


## Preface

*Protein purification* is essential for characterization of the function, structure and interactions of a protein of interest. The magnitude of the challenge for protein purification becomes clearer when one considers the variety of macromolecules present in a cell extract. The development of techniques and methods for protein purification has been an key prerequisite for many of the advancements made in biotechnology.

The completion of the human genome project and the development of highthroughput approaches indicates a dramatic acceleration in the pace of biological sciences. In medical research, purified proteins are used for a wide range of applications, including assay development, molecular biology applications, production of antibodies, binding studies and more. Indeed, protein purification is a first stage of almost all in vitro protein studies.

The present volume on "Protein Purification" aims to introduce the recent advances in the purification strategies. Processes like three phase partitioning, ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration, SDS PAGE and denaturation are being discussed. The most powerful of these methods, affinity chromatography also called affinity purification, is dealing with a length. Beneficial role of lectins is envisaged, especially in isolation and characterization of glycoproteins for histochemical analysis.

There is little doubt that proteomics (the study of an organism's entire complement of proteins) will have a significant influence in all areas of the life sciences in the years to come. The chapter on Phosphoproteomics enlightens the way to distinguish almost all phosphorylated proteins in a cell or tissue at a given time.

We hope that the current volume will be a worthwhile resource for scientists (bio/protein-chemists) with an interest in protein purification or those students who are heading towards implementing purification techniques in their research career. It provides the necessary background material from which to build a strong foundation of knowledge in the field of protein biochemistry.

> **Rizwan Ahmad, PhD** Department of Biochemistry, Human Function Group, Oman Medical College, Sohar, Oman
