Countercurrent chromatography

Countercurrent chromatography is a newly developed versatile partition chromatography which totally eliminates the use of solid supports. The method utilizes the intriguing hydrodynamic behavior of two immiscible solvents in a rotating coiled tube. Various types of seal-free flow-through centrifuge schemes are introduced to facilitate a continuous elution process. The method yields high partition efficiencies comparable to liquid chromatography but without the complications arising from the use of solid supports. Countercurrent chromatography covers a wide spectrum of applicable samples ranging from small ions and molecules to macromolecules and even cell particles in both analytical and preparative scales.     

Affinity chromatography of nucleases

The review concerns isolation and purification of nucleases by affinity chromatography. Different stationary ligands and the methods for their immobilization on supports are described, along with diverse eluents and various procedures for a nuclease detachment from the affinity sorbents. The data on the affinity chromatography application for measuring the dissociation constants of the enzyme complexes with either immobilized or soluble ligands are compiled.     

Solvent modulation of column chromatography

A majority of column chromatographies use only selected salts, e.g., ammonium sulfate, NaCl, Citrate and phosphate in hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) and NaCl in ion exchange and dye affinity chromatographies. Alternatively, a pH range below or above the neutral value is often used to reduce affinity interactions, e.g., in Protein-A or dye affinity column chromatography. Although these parameters are easily manipulated, they are not necessarily the optimal conditions for high recovery and resolution of the proteins. So-called co-solvents have been used, although to a limited extent, to manipulate performance of column chromatography. Here the term co-solvent is used to indicate its relatively high concentrations required for these applications, meaning that it also serves as solvent along with water. Ethylene glycol and MgCl(2) have been used to elute specific antibodies from antigen-affinity column. Arginine has also been used for the same purpose. Arginine has much wider applications for various column chromatographies, including size exclusion chromatography (SEC), HIC and affinity chromatography. Polyethylene glycol and glycine have also been used to improve the performance of HIC and hydroxyapatite chromatography. This review summarizes these applications of co-solvents for column chromatographies.     

Negative chromatography: Progress,applications and future perspectives

In negative chromatography, the impurities bind on the adsorbent, and the product is allowed to flow through the chromatographic column. Negative chromatography is an alternative to positive chromatography under certain circumstances and has been used to purify various biomolecules. For this review, a detailed survey of the performance of reported studies on negative chromatography was conducted. The applications of negative chromatography in the capture and intermediate purification steps for biomolecules (e.g., plasmid DNA, antibodies, enzymes, hemoglobin, virus particles and cells) are reviewed. The negative chromatographic adsorbents adsorb the impurities through surface charge, hydrophobic interaction at specific sites on the surface, hydrophobic interaction, hydrogen bonding and functional groups. Examples of applications of negative chromatography according to the type of chromatography matrix used are summarized and discussed. In addition, the effects of operating conditions (initial protein concentration, buffer ions, pH and salt concentration) are discussed, and the criteria for choosing negative or positive chromatography are summarized. The literature survey showed that there will be future limitations and challenges ahead in implementation of negative chromatography. Possible solutions to the limitations and challenges of negative chromatography and future trends for developing negative chromatography are discussed.     

Affinity chromatography for protein isolation.

Thousands of reports concerning protein purification have appeared in the past year, and over 150 of these involved, at least in part, the affinity chromatography process. Immobilized membrane affinity chromatography, temperature-programmed elution, and centrifugal affinity chromatography are among the most significant new techniques amid the myriads of applications in this mature field.     

Quantitative analysis of total membrane-bound sugars and amino sugars as alditol acetates by combined thin-layer chromatography,gas-liquid chromatography,and radiogas chromatography

A sensitive method (0.4 μg of hexoses routinely detectable) for quantitative determinations of sugars and amino sugars in biological material, particularly in membranes, is described. The method consists of a combination of thin-layer chromatography (tlc), gas-liquid chromatography (glc), and radiogas chromatography (rgc), using a highly thermostable phase (Silar 10 c) for the analysis of the specific alditol acetates. In this method, the losses incurred during hydrolysis and preparation for glc are assessed by comparison with the specific recoveries of added radiolabeled internal standards.     

Preparative high-performance liquid partition chromatography of proteins.

Methods for preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (hplc) of proteins are described. Both normal and reverse-phase chromatography were studied and adapted to the fractionation of proteins in quantities of up to 50 mg. Lichrosorb Diol was used as a “normal phase” for chromatography of hydrophobic proteins. Lichrosorb RP-8 was used for reversephase chromatography of proteins.     

Analytical exclusion chromatography

This review summarizes the development of exclusion chromatography, also termed gel filtration, molecular-sieve chromatography and gel permeation chromatography, for the quantitative characterization of solutes and solute interactions. As well as affording a means of determining molecular mass and molecular mass distribution, the technique offers a convenient way of characterizing solute self-association and solute-ligand interactions in terms of reaction stoichiometry and equilibrium constant. The availability of molecular-sieve media with different selective porosities ensures that very little restriction is imposed on the size of solute amenable to study. Furthermore, access to a diverse array of assay procedures for monitoring the column eluate endows analytical exclusion chromatography with far greater flexibility than other techniques from the viewpoint of solute concentration range that can be examined. In addition to its widely recognized prowess as a means of solute separation and purification, exclusion chromatography thus also possesses considerable potential for investigating the functional roles of the purified solutes.     

Liquid chromatography modelling: a review

Liquid chromatography modelling represents a real challenge to understand the phenomena encountered in the separation process of biomolecules, especially in non-linear adsorption cases, and to enhance production rates and recovery yields in preparative chromatography.

The three major ways to describe liquid chromatography are presented, i.e. the continuity equations, the theory of interferences and the plate theory. The former is described in detail, since it permits the inclusion of various physical and thermodynamical phenomena, and to handle non-linear adsorption problems. The numerical ways of solving the differential equations stated by the different models are also considered. The interference theory, despite its limitations to ideal situations, is still considered as a useful tool in non-linear multicomponents liquid chromatography modelling. The plate theory is not developed, for it is restricted to linear adsorption cases.     

Purification of carbonic anhydrase isoenzymes by high-performance affinity chromatography and hydrophobic interaction chromatography

Isoenzymes of carbonic anhydrase were purified by a combination of affinity chromatography and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Immobilization of sulfonamides on an epoxy-activated support provided a stationary phase for affinity chromatography which was stable to hydrolysis by carbonic anhydrase. A first purification step allowed the isolation of enzymes directly from homogenates of human erythrocytes and rat stomach. Without any further preparation, except the addition of ammonium sulfate to the eluate from affinity chromatography, the isoenzymes could be separated by hydrophobic interaction chromatography with very high recovery of protein and retention of enzymatic activity.     

Adsorption chromatography of proteins

A method for adsorption chromatography of proteins is proposed. A protein solution is passed through a cellulose column at a pH value corresponding to an isoelectric point of the protein. Depending on the charge of unwanted proteins, they either remain at the origin (if charges of protein and ion-exchanger are opposite) or are released from the column (if charges of protein and ion-exchanger coincide). Elution volume of the purified protein is higher than for the second group of unwanted proteins because movement of the uncharged protein of interest includes its adsorption on cellulose followed by subsequent desorption caused by the elution buffer. Problems of optimization of buffers and adsorbents are discussed. Applicability of the method of adsorption chromatography is illustrated using purification of horseradish peroxidase as an example.     

Evaluation of radial chromatography versus axial chromatography, practical approach

Developments in packing and packing port design of radial columns in recent years have resulted in a claimed significant increase in performance of this process chromatography technology. In this first study, the main chromatographic parameters as efficiency, capacity factor, asymmetry and resolution were evaluated in a unique one-to-one comparison between a 120 ml bed-volume and 6 cm bed length radial chromatography mini-process column against a 50 mm diameter, 6 cm bed height and 120 ml bed-volume axial chromatography column. Radial chromatography showed an increase in efficiency by 31% in the number of plates per meter while the equilibration could be reduced by 0.4-0.5 column volumes. The asymmetry factor for bovine serum albumin in radial chromatography showed a reduction of 20% while the reduction of the asymmetry factor of the smaller protein ovotransferrin decreased even by 46% in comparison to the performance of the comparative axial chromatography column. Therefore in radial chromatography resolution improved up to 20%. The retention volume was similar in both cases. For radial chromatography, the decrease in "width at half height" at Height Equivalent of Theoretical Plates (HETP) measurements was 40% while the decrease of the over-all width of the peak was 27%. For adsorbed/desorbed proteins, the elution peak showed similar results: "width at half height" decreased to 45% while the over-all width of the peak decreased by 28%. The concentration of the non-retained protein in the flow-through (lysozyme), increased by 35% while the concentration of the eluted fraction (serum albumin bovine), increased with 40% in the radial chromatography columns. The better results obtained with the radial column were probably the consequence of the geometrical design of this device (larger inlet surface area and small outlet surface area which concentrate the eluted fraction).     

Silver ion chromatography of lipids and fatty acids

Silver ion chromatography as applied to the analysis of lipids is reviewed. Thin-layer, column, high-performance liquid and supercritical fluid chromatography in the silver ion mode are included. The lipid types covered are fatty acids, triacylglycerols and complex lipids. Separations are divided into those according to number, geometry and position of double bonds, as well as acyl positional isomers for triacylglycerols. The mechanism of silver ion chromatography is discussed in relation to recent studies using silver ion high-performance liquid chromatographic methodology.     

High-performance liquid chromatography of proteins by gel permeation chromatography

The ability of two high-performance liquid chromatography gel permeation columns to separate proteins was evaluated. These columns gave satisfactory molecular weight separations for some, but not all, proteins tested. These results indicate that there are limitations in confidence of molecular weight determinations made by this technique.     

Affinity chromatography as a method for sample preparation in gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Analytical chemistry aims at developing analytical methods and techniques for unequivocal identification and accurate quantitation of natural and synthetic compounds in a given matrix. Analytical methods based on the mass spectrometry (MS) technology, e.g., GC/MS and LC/MS and their variants, GC/tandem MS and LC/tandem MS, are best suited both for qualitative and quantitative analyses. GC/MS methods not only serve as reference methods, e.g., in clinical chemistry, but they are now widely and routinely used for quantitative determination of numerous analytes. However, despite inherent accuracy, analytical methods based on GC/MS commonly consist of several analytical steps, including extraction and derivatization of the analyte. In general, unequivocal identification and accurate quantification of an analyte in very low concentrations in complex matrices require further chromatographic techniques, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) for sample purification. In recent years, affinity chromatography (e.g., boronate and immunoaffinity chromatography) has been developed to a superior technique for sample preparation of numerous classes of compounds in GC/MS. In this article, the application and importance of affinity chromatography as a method for sample preparation in modern quantitative GC/MS method is described and discussed, using as examples various natural and synthetic compounds, such as arachidonic acid derivates, nitrosylated and nitrated proteins, steroids, drugs, and toxins.     

Quantitative affinity chromatography.

The objective of this review is to summarize developments in the use of quantitative affinity chromatography to determine equilibrium constants for solute interactions of biological interest. Affinity chromatography is an extremely versatile method for characterizing interactions between dissimilar reactants because the biospecificity incorporated into the design of the affinity matrix ensures applicability of the method regardless of the relative sizes of the two reacting solutes. Adoption of different experimental strategies, such as column chromatography, simple partition equilibrium experiments, solid-phase immunoassay, and biosensor technology, has led to a situation whereby affinity chromatography affords a means of characterizing interactions governed by an extremely broad range of binding affinities--relatively weak interactions (binding constants below 10(3) M(-1)) through to interactions with binding constants in excess of 10(9) M(-1). In addition to its important role in solute separation and purification, affinity chromatography thus also possesses considerable potential for investigating the functional roles of the reactants thereby purified.     

Lectin affinity chromatography

A protocol is described for the preparation of lectin affinity chromatography columns using purified lectins and preactivated matrices. A general method is given for the purification of glycoproteins on immobilized Con A. Methods for immobilizing Con A on CDI agarose, Affi-Gel 15, and carbonyl-diimidazole-activated agarose are described.     

Affinity chromatography of aminopeptidases

The recent data are generalized concerning a series of synthetic oligopeptides which are competitive inhibitors of aminopeptidases of animal, plant and microbic origin. A method for biospecific chromatography of these enzymes is developed, using as ligands such inhibitors as diazo derivatives of p-aminophenyl-, chloromethyl- and methylketones of L-amino acids and peptides, amino acids, aliphatic acid amides. It is established that the most effective inhibitors of aminopeptidases contain L-amino group in the uncharged form in the N-end position, hydrophobic lateral chain of L-configuration and a carbonyl group analogous to position of these groups in the substrate. Methods for synthesis of certain peptides are developed with respect to the above requirements. It is shown that peptides with a space-inaccessible peptide link and antibiotics are often used as ligands for affinity chromatography of aminopeptidases. At present a nonspecific (ion-exchange, hydrophobic) interaction of sorbent and aminopeptidases is observed, which necessitates to increase the specificity at the stage of the enzyme desorption in the further studies.     

Separation of proteins by high-speed pressure liquid chromatography

Two chromatographic systems for separation of proteins by high-speed pressure liquid chromatography are described. Molecular size exclusion chromatography was achieved by the use of porous silica deactivated by Carbowax-20M to prevent protein adsorption. Protein separations were successful provided the salt concentration in the eluting buffer was relatively high.The second system described is adsorption chromatography of proteins on deactivated Porasil. This technique involves elution of the proteins from the gel by means of a salt and pH gradient. In both systems the total time required for the chromatography is less than 1 hr.     

Thin layer gel chromatography of dextrans

Microgram quantities of soluble dextran fractions have been separated by thin layer gel chromatography. The dextrans are first combined with a triazine dye to render them visible during the chromatography and to facilitate the densitometric evaluation of the chromatograms. The method allows the determination of dextran molecular weights up to approximately 100 000 and can also be used in studying the polydispersity of the fractions.