ABSTRACT
The development of high-performance liquid chromatography has provided the analytical resolution, quantitation, speed, and reliability required for microsequencing. Crucial to any microsequencing method is the purification and handling of small quantities of polypeptide without contamination that would interfere with the Edman degradation. After microsequencing, peptides can be synthesized and used as immunogens, and the resulting antibodies can be used to verify the biological activity of the protein and, if appropriate, to purify larger amounts of the protein. Direct microsequencing at the subpicomole level would provide even more striking new opportunities to analyze new systems in developmental biology and neurobiology. Protein sequencing can provide a powerful approach to the cloning of rare-message genes. Protein sequencing also is becoming an important method for identifying protein or peptide fractions and, perhaps more important, assessing their purity. In a variety of ways protein sequencing can provide useful information about the structures of functional proteins and peptides.
