  Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis has been instrumental in the development
of proteomics. Although it is no longer the exclusive scheme used for
proteomics, its unique features make it a still highly valuable tool,
especially when multiple quantitative comparisons of samples must be made, and
even for large samples series. However, quantitative proteomics using 2D gels
is critically dependent on the performances of the protein detection methods
used after the electrophoretic separations. This chapter therefore examines
critically the various detection methods (radioactivity, dyes, fluorescence,
and silver) as well as the data analysis issues that must be taken into account
when quantitative comparative analysis of 2D gels is performed.
