The pace at which protein research is currently being conducted indicates that more efficient and rapid means of expressing and purifying proteins must be developed. While there has been a consistent demand for the tools to purify proteins from whole cells or tissues, this technologically stable market continues to grow. The increase in the number of biological therapeutics in clinical trials as well as the quest to elucidate the proteome have generated renewed interest in these techniques, which are fundamental to almost all facets of life science research. Scientists are uncovering more and more information on the implications of proteomics and genomics in disease. As a result, the techniques that define protein purification provide the bedrock for studies on these topics, thereby making the act of purifying proteins a highly valued step in the research process. However, as knowledge of protein functionality is increasing, significant improvements to the field of protein purification appear to have plateaued in recent years. The advent of affinity chromatography and tagged purification systems several years ago was a tremendous boon for protein science; however, since their introduction to the market, little has been done to improve upon these techniques. Automated purification systems promise to minimize required expertise and increase the speed by which protein samples can be isolated and analyzed, but researchers continue to struggle with basic issues such as sample purity, low yields and sample degradation. Based on a 32-question survey of over 580 industrial and academic scientists who utilize protein purification methodologies in their research, Protein Purification Systems is an essential tool for understanding customer needs and identifying opportunities to increase customer satisfaction. It examines product attributes, satisfaction levels with suppliers, and several products and techniques commonly used by researchers in addition to investigating customer loyalty across all products within the protein purification value chain. In this highly competitive, technology-driven market, meeting and exceeding customer needs is essential for suppliers that want to increase or even maintain market share. This report will help suppliers exploit opportunities to differentiate themselves from competitors through better customer understanding and the development of better protein purification tools. Report Highlights
Protein Purfication Systems: Market Opportunities for Research Product Suppliers contains over 50 charts and/or tables and more than 15 cross-tabulations for the 32 survey questions. Below is a glimpse of the key findings derived from just a few of the survey questions: • In vitro activity assay (60%), antibody development/production (54%) and protein:protein interaction assays (44%) are the top three applications for which purified proteins are used. (Question 7) • According to most respondents, a major problem encountered when performing protein purification is co-purifying proteins. (Question 12) • Over 60% of the scientists surveyed do not purchase cell lysis products from a commercial source. (Question 13) • Of the tagged protein/purification systems mentioned, nearly one-half of the respondents primarily use a polyhistidine / metal affinity system. (Question 17) • Qiagen, Amersham Biosciences and Sigma-Aldrich are the most frequently cited primary suppliers of purification resin/columns for tagged protein/purification systems. (Question 21) • Over 45% of the scientists surveyed believe that 12 preps per run is ideal for an automated protein purification system. (Question 29) (electronic copy also includes 1 print copy) | 
