Preparing a purification summary table.

Once a protein purification scheme has been developed, the purification, characterization, and use/structure of a target protein are usually published. It is highly desirable to present the major steps in the purification and the corresponding features of the protein at each step summarized in the form of a purification summary table. In considering whether to repeat a published protein purification, a reader needs this information to evaluate the purification, and to decide if it is worth following or if it needs major modifications. In this chapter, I discuss the main characteristics of a useful purification summary table and point out common mistakes and problems I see in many such tables.