The characterization of proteins and peptides by automated methods.

A suite of software programs called the BioToolBox is described. The primary purpose of the BioToolBox is to facilitate the characterisation of proteins and peptides using data acquired by IonSpray mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry. As an example, the characterization of a 50 KDa protein (transcription termination factor-rho) is described. The programs which comprise the BioToolBox produce complementary information which is exchanged between the software modules.