The analysis of certain proteins using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) requires the complementary technique of
liquid chromatography, according to researchers writing in Proteome Science.
A team from the Universite Lille Nord de France, the Universite d'Artois and the Institut de Medecine Predictive et de Recherche Therapeutique explain why 2-DE alone is not always enough to yield usable results.
"Complementary approaches are often needed to overcome incompatibilities between the 2-DE separation technique and the physical-chemical properties of certain proteins of interest," they write.
In their own research, they were looking into the role that brain capillary endothelial cells play in the blood-brain barrier, where they are the main physiological base.
They were able to elaborate a reference proteome, an advancement they say could represent a step towards full gene expression databases for capillary endothelial cells with blood-brain barrier characteristics.
Proteome Science welcomes research findings covering all issues relating to both structural and functional proteomics.