Book excerpt: Current Research in Protein Chemistry: Techniques, Structure, and Function reviews new techniques and methods for determining the structure and function of proteins. Topics covered include protein folding and stability, chimeric proteins, amino acid and peptide analysis, mass spectrometric methods, and protein sequencing techniques. This book is divided into six sections comprised of 55 chapters. The discussion begins with a description of microwave irradiation that uses Teflon-Pyrex tubes for protein hydrolysis, followed by the application of high performance capillary electrophoresis to the analysis of amino acids. The sections that follow explore mass spectrometry, protein sequencing, and capillary electrophoresis as well as protein stability, chimeric proteins and enzyme modifications, and protein structure prediction. Chapters focus on the crystal structure of human interleukin-1a, the acid-denatured states of proteins, solubility of recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli, and catalysis by chimeric proteins. This book will be of value to students and researchers interested in protein chemistry.