Short Protocols in Molecular Biology

It is now more than ten years since Dr. Alec Jeffreys (now Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, FRS) reported in Nature that the investigation of certain minisatellite regions in the human genome could produce what he termed DNA fingerprints and provide useful information in the fields of paternity testing and forensic analysis. Since that time we have witnessed a revolution in the field of forensic identification. A total change of technology, from serological or electrophoretic analysis of protein polymorphisms to direct investigation of the underlying DNA polymorphisms has occurred in a short space of time. In addition, the evolution and development of the DNA systems themselves has been rapid and spectacular.

Amino Acid Analysis (AAA) is an integral part of analytical biochemistry. In a relatively short time, the variety of AAA methods has evolved dramatically with more methods shifting to the use of mass spectrometry (MS) as a detection method; another new aspect is miniaturization. However, most importantly, AAA in this day and age should be viewed in the context of Metabolomics as a part of Systems Biology. Amino Acid Analysis: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition presents a broad spectrum of all available methods allowing readers to choose the method that best suits their particular laboratory set-up and analytical needs.