Subcellular fractionation for identification of biomarkers: serial detergent extraction by subcellular accessibility and solubility.

Cellular localization of proteins is one of the most valuable sources of information regarding spatiotemporal biological events involved in human disease. This information is sometimes enhanced by carrying out protein isolation using a process known as subcellular fractionation. This involves the sequential extraction of proteins from specific compartments and/or organelles within the cell. Additionally, subcellular fractionation for biomarker discovery enables the in-depth analysis of biomolecules by reducing the complexity of the protein mixture. In this chapter, four custom fractionation approaches and one commercial kit are compared for their efficacy and compatibility with subsequent proteomic analysis.