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Angela Spivey

Abstract
Many environmental toxicants cause modifications (adducts) in proteins in the blood. Some adducts may serve as useful biomarkers for specific toxicant exposures. Shotgun proteomics, a powerful tool for the analysis of complex protein mixtures, has begun to show promise for the diagnosis of cancer and, more recently, for streamlining the identification of the most promising biomarkers for further exploration. Within the next few years, experts expect to see the routine use of hybrid immuno–mass spectrometry assays that use an antibody to capture the protein of interest along with mass spectrometry to detect and quantify the modification with very high selectivity and sensitivity. Although shotgun proteomics may facilitate the search for new biomarkers, the problem of pre-testing protein degradation in the body will need to be addressed before the technology can advance much further.