Proteomics is a major new area of scientific research driven by the growing information gap between genes and their functions. Large-scale DNA sequencing and annotation projects identify thousands of new genes on a daily basis but the functions of these genes remain largely unknown. Proteins are the actual functional molecules of the cell, and technical advances in the high-throughout analysis of proteins now allow these molecules to be studied directly. "Principles of Proteomics" provides a comprehensive introduction to this relatively new field, for the first time bringing together all the disparate themes of proteomics. The book covers the development of large-scale technologies for protein separation, isolation, detection and quantitation. It describes in detail the role of mass spectrometry in high-throughput protein annotation. It also covers the emerging fields of structural proteomics, interaction proteomics and the recent development of chip-based analysis techniques. The final chapter provides some examples of how proteomics is being applied in the fields of medicine, biotechnology and agriculture. Each chapter ends with a short bibliography containing some classic papers and useful reviews for further reference.