The separation sciences, the front end to proteomics: An historical perspective

It is now over 25 years since the term proteomics (analysis of the entire protein complement of a cell, tissue, or organism under a specific, defined set of conditions) was originally coined. Since then, the field has advanced rapidly and there are now more than 135,500 publications addressing the field. With current instrumentation it is possible to detect over 10,000 protein forms in a single experiment. The separation of proteins and peptides has been a key component of many of these studies for both sample concentration and enrichment and to reduce the complexity of the samples under analysis, allowing deeper mining of the individual proteomes. In this review, the roles of chromatography, electrophoresis, and other allied techniques in the advancement of the field will be investigated. Key technologies will be presented, and examples given of their application showing how the field has now advanced to a stage where it is enhancing our understanding of the human biology underlying health and disease, and clinical translation, supporting precision/personalized medicine, is now feasible. Clearly the separation sciences have played a key role in many of these advances.

Automated summary

Proteomics, a field that analyzes the complete protein composition of cells, tissues, or organisms under specific conditions, has seen rapid development over the past 25 years, with over 135,500 publications addressing the field. Current instrumentation allows detection of over 10,000 protein forms in a single experiment, with the separation of proteins and peptides playing a crucial role in sample concentration and complexity reduction. The advancement of proteomics is enhancing our understanding of human biology, supporting precision/personalized medicine through clinical translation, with separation sciences playing a key role in these developments.