Rapid advances in molecular biology have accelerated the production of a great number of protein-based therapeutic agents. The major cost in producing these proteins appears to be associated with their purification from the complex mixture of the crude extract. A major challenge to the protein biochemist and the biochemical engineer is the development of rapid, efficient, and cost-effective purification systems. This volume presents state-of-the-art reviews of current methods used in the purifica tion of biological macromolecules that are based on molecular interactions. Thus, the major...

The development of radioimmunoassay (RIA) by R.S. Yalow and S.A. Berson in 1959 opens up a new avenue in ultra sensitive analysis of trace substances in complex biological systems. In recognition of the enormous contributions of RIA to basic research in biology and to routine clinical tests in laboratory medicine, R.S. Yalow, the co-developer of RIA, was awarded, in 1977, the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology. The basic principle of RIA is elegantly simple. It is based on a specific, competitive binding reaction between the analyte and the radio-labeled analog of the analyte for the...