Anal Bioanal Chem (2008) 391:2377–2378 DOI 10.1007/s00216-008-2137-2

BOOKS AND SOFTWARE IN REVIEW

Daniel S. Sem (Ed.): Spectral techniques in proteomics Wolf D. Lehmann

Published online: 8 May 2008 # Springer-Verlag 2008

Bibliography Spectral techniques in proteomics Daniel S. Sem (Ed.) CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Ltd ISBN 9781574445800 Hardcover, 464 pages, March 2007 $139.95

Book’s topic The book has the ambitious aim of giving an overview of the main analytical methods currently used in proteomics. The exceptionally fruitful marriage of liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and bioinformatics attracts so much interest that the perception of the progress and achievements of other techniques in this field is strongly diminished. This book helps researchers at any level of expertise to gain a more balanced view of analytical proteomics, since it provides an introduction to the most important techniques and selected applications of analytical proteomics by mass spectrometry, in cell, in vivo and electrophoretic NMR, surface plasmon resonance, immunoproteomics, fluorescence and x-ray crystallography.

W. D. Lehmann (*) Molecular Structure Analysis (W160), German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany e-mail: [email protected]

Contents The book comprises 20 chapters, which are arranged in six units. It starts with an introductory unit of three chapters providing a view on the field of “Chemical proteomics” and a general introduction into the relation between “Systems biology and proteomics”. The second unit is dedicated to mass spectrometric analyses of proteomes and subproteomes (five chapters), the third unit concentrates on “Protein–protein interactions” (four chapters), the fourth unit describes “Protein–ligand interactions” (four chapters), and in the fifth unit covers “Structural proteomics” (three chapters). The book closes with a summary chapter, which is written by the editor as are two introductory chapters. The expert efforts of the editor nicely draw together the relatively diverse topics, clarify the concept of the book and provide the reader with some original and enlightening details about the concepts of the whole field. The majority of the 45 authors come from the USA, the rest from Europe and Australia. About a third of the authors come from the industry and two thirds from academic institutions. An important (both explicit and hidden) message of the book is that the most important progress in the field of analytical proteomics could be achieved in the investigation of subproteomes, which may be defined e.g. by a common cellular localization, a common chemical reactivity, a common covalent modification or a common immunoreactivity. Outstanding studies in the field are mostly defined by the combination of a powerful subproteome preparation method with a state-of-the-art analytical method and (often) the inclusion of some stable isotope labelling technology. The book gives examples of a variety of such combinations, which may inspire the reader to design and apply new fruitful extensions of this promising concept. Comparison with existing literature This book has a much broader methodological scope than many others in the field

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of proteomics. Thus, it may be of particular interest to those readers intending to broaden their overview about the field of analytical proteomics. The editor has put much effort in the introductory and summary chapters, so that the reader may participate in his experiences and points of view. Critical assessment The book contains a punctual insight into very different analytical approaches in the proteomics field. These fields are very diverse e.g. immunoproteomics, shotgun proteomics, structural NMR studies, protein– protein and protein–ligand interactions and stable isotope techniques in proteomics. It is obvious that within the scope of such a book, only very selected information can be compiled and transmitted. In this context, the merit of this book is to provide an interested researcher with an effective introduction into a different analytical concept.

Anal Bioanal Chem (2008) 391:2377–2378

The articles in this book are all written by experts in the field who have each managed to give a readable introduction into their topic. The large reference lists, which accompany most chapters, offer the reader fast access to original studies. The book is an encouraging support for those researchers in the field of proteomics who look for solid information outside their own area of specialization and look for new concepts. Summary This comprehensive book provides some expert introductions into key technologies of analytical proteomics. It is designed to provide experts in the field a punctual introduction into the most important techniques. The benefits of focusing on a well-defined subproteome are illustrated by a variety of studies with broad methodological scope.