Bonchoalveolar lavage fluid sample preparation for diverse proteomic approaches in pulmonary diseases

The proteomic analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein content may reveal changes in lung protein expression and secretion during the course of pulmonary diseases. Sample preparation is a critical step in proteomic analysis of BALF. Procedures such as iTRAQTM, 2-D Electrophoresis and Mass Spectrometry require a sample with specific characteristics and BALF samples need to be carefully prepared in order to obtain consistent and reproducible results. Our intention is to generate a workflow that would allow for a small sample of BALF to be used in different proteomic analysis methods such as iTRAQTM and 2-D electrophoresis.