ABSTRACT
The amino acid sequence analysis of peptides and proteins has become one of the most widely used methodologies in modern biochemistry and molecular biology. The most widely applied single technique for peptide and protein sequencing is that based on the chemistry developed by P. Edman over a period of decades. The fundamentals of this chemistry, whether applied manually or in various versions of automated sequencing, involve three basic steps: coupling, cleavage, and identification. Having achieved a high degree of efficiency in the coupling and cleavage steps of the manual degradation procedures, Edman turned his attention to the development of an automated system for the highly repetitive and tedious manipulations involved. The first such automated sequencer was described in a classic paper published in 1967. The spinning cup sequencer as first developed by Edman and as subsequently modified was a highly successful instrument.
