Immobilized metal affinity chromatography of monoclonal immunoglobulin M against mutant amidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The chromatographic behavior of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) of immunoglobulin (Ig) M class against mutant (T103I) amidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated on immobilized metal chelates. The effect of ligand concentration, the length of spacer arm, and the nature of metal ion were investigated in immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). The MAbs against mutant amidase adsorbed to Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Co(II), and Ca(II)-iminodiacetic acid (IDA) agarose columns. The increase in ligand concentration (epichlorohydrin: 30-60 and 1,4-butanediol-diglycidyl ether: 16-36) resulted in higher adsorption to IgM into immobilized metal chelates. The length of spacer arm was found to affect protein adsorption, as longer spacer arm (i.e., 1,4-butanediol-diglycidyl ether) increased protein adsorption of immobilized metal chelates. The adsorption of IgM onto immobilized metal chelates was pH dependent because an increase in the binding of IgM was observed as the pH varied from 6.0 to 8.0. The adsorption of IgM to immobilized metal chelates was the result of coordination of histidine residues to metal chelates that are available in the third constant domain of heavy chain (CH3) of immunoglobulins, as the presence of imidazole (5 mM) in the equilibration buffer abolished the adsorption of IgM to the column. The combination of tailor-made stationary phases for IMAC and a correct design of the adsorption parameters permitted to devise a one-step purification procedure for IgM. Culture supernatants containing IgM against mutant amidase (T103I) were purified either by IMAC on EPI-60-IDA-Co (II) column or by gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-300HR. The specific content of IgM and final recovery of antibody activity exhibited similar values for both purification schemes. The purified preparations of IgM obtained by both schemes were apparently homogeneous on native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a Mr of 851,000 Da. The results presented in this work strongly suggest that one-step purification of IgM by IMAC is a cost-effective and processcompatible alternative to other types of chromatography.     

Immobilized metal affinity chromatography of monoclonal immunoglobulin M against mutant amidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The chromatographic behavior of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) of immunoglobulin (Ig) M class against mutant (T103I) amidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated on immobilized metal chelates. The effect of ligand concentration, the length of spacer arm, and the nature of metal ion were investigated in immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). The MAbs against mutant amidase adsorbed to Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Co(II), and Ca(II)-iminodiacetic acid (IDA) agarose columns. The increase in ligand concentration (epichlorohydrin: 30–60 and 1,4-butanediol-diglycidyl ether: 16–36) resulted in higher adsorption to IgM into immobilized metal chelates. The length of spacer arm was found to affect protein adsorption, as longer spacer arm (i.e., 1,4-butanediol-diglycidyl ether) increased protein adsorption of immobilized metal chelates. The adsorption of IgM onto immobilized metal chelates was pH dependent because an increase in the binding of IgM was observed as the pH varied from 6.0 to 8.0. The adsorption of IgM to immobilized metal chelates was the result of coordination of histidine residues to metal chelates that are available in the third constant domain of heavy chain (CH3) of immunoglobulins, as the presence of imidazole (5 mM) in the equilibration buffer abolished the adsorption of IgM to the column. The combination of tailor-made stationary phases for IMAC and a correct design of the adsorption parameters permitted to devise a one-step purification procedure for IgM. Culture supernatants containing IgM against mutant amidase (T103I) were purified either by IMAC on EPI-60-IDA-Co (II) column or by gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-300HR. The specific content of IgM and final recovery of antibody activity exhibited similar values for both purification schemes. The purified preparations of IgM obtained by both schemes were apparently homogeneous on native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a M _r of 851,000 Da. The results presented in this work strongly suggest that one-step purification of IgM by IMAC is a cost-effective and process-compatible alternative to other types of chromatography.     

Production of polygalacturonase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Coriolus versicolor</Emphasis> grown on tomato pomace and its chromatographic behaviour on immobilized metal chelates

Tomato pomace and pectin were used as the sole carbon sources for the production of polygalacturonase from a strain of Coriolus versicolor in submerged culture. The culture of C. versicolor grown on tomato pomace exhibited a peak of polygalacturonase activity (1,427 U/l) on the third day of culture with a specific activity of 14.5 U/mg protein. The production of polygalacturonase by C. versicolor grown on pectin as a sole carbon source increased with the time of cultivation, reaching a maximum activity of 3,207 U/l of fermentation broth with a specific activity of 248 U/mg protein. The levels of different isoenzymes of polygalacturonase produced during the culture growth were analysed by native PAGE. Differential chromatographic behaviour of lignocellulosic enzymes produced by C. versicolor (i.e. polygalacturonase, xylanase and laccase) was studied on immobilized metal chelates. The effect of ligand concentration, pH, the length of spacer arm and the nature of metal ion were studied for enzyme adsorption on immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). The adsorption of these lignocellulosic enzymes onto immobilized metal chelates was pH-dependent since an increase in protein adsorption was observed as the pH was increased from 6.0 to 8.0. The adsorption of polygalacturonase as well as other enzymes to immobilized metal chelates was due to coordination of histidine residues which are available at the protein surface since the presence of imidazole in the equilibration buffer abolished the adsorption of the enzyme to immobilized metal chelates. A one-step purification of polygalacturonase from C. versicolor was devised by using a column of Sepharose 6B-EPI 30-IDA-Cu(II) and purified enzyme exhibited a specific activity of about 150 U/mg protein, final recovery of enzyme activity of 100% and a purification factor of about 10. The use of short spacer arm and the presence of imidazole in equilibration buffer exhibited a higher selectivity for purification of polygalacturonase on this column with a high purification factor. The purified enzyme preparation was analysed by SDS-PAGE as well as by "in situ" detection of enzyme activity.     

Characterization of monoclonal antibodies against altered (T103I) amidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against mutant (T103I) amidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were raised by hybridoma technology. To select MAbs suitable for immunoaffinity chromatography, hybridoma clones secreting polyol-responsive MAbs (PR-MAbs) were screened that bind antigen tightly but release under mild and nondenaturing elution conditions. It was found that about 10% of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-positive hybridoma produce these MAbs as their ag-ab complex can be disrupted by propylene glycol in the presence of a suitable salt. Two of these hybridoma clones (F6G7 and E2A6) secreting PR-MAbs against mutant amidase were selected for optimization of experimental conditions for elution of amidase by using ELISA elution assay. These hybridoma cell lines secreted MAbs of IgM class that were purified in a single step by gel filtration chromatography, which revealed a single protein band on native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Specificity studies of this MAb revealed that it recognized specifically a common epitope on mutant and wild-type amidases as determined by direct ELISA. This MAb exhibited a higher affinity for denatured forms of wild-type and mutant amidases than for native forms as revealed by affinity constants (K), suggesting that it recognizes a cryptic epitope on an amidase molecule. Furthermore, MAb E2A6 inhibited about 60% of wild-type amidase activity, whereas it activated about 60% of mutant amidase (T103I) activity. The data presented in this work suggest that this MAb acts as a very useful probe to detect conformational changes in native and denatured amidases as well as to differentiate wild-type and mutant (T103I) amidases.     

Production,IMAC purification,and molecular modeling of N-carbamoyl-D-amino acid amidohydrolase C-terminally fused with a six-his peptide

A six-His peptide was genetically engineered to the C-terminus of Agrobacterium radiobacter N-carbamoyl-D-amino acid amidohydrolase monomer to facilitate the protein purification with immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). The fusion enzyme, named as DCaseH, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and one-step IMAC-purified. The production study showed that DCaseH was optimally produced at 15 degrees C for 25 h by the induction of 0.05 mM IPTG. Both Co(2+)-chelated TANOL gels and Ni(2+)-chelated nitriloacetic acid agarose gels efficiently purified DCaseH, with the former yielding purer enzyme than the latter. Highly pure DCaseH was obtained in the former purification with the addition of 5 mM imidazole in the washing buffer, and the specific enzyme activity was increased more than 11-fold. Denaturing IMAC purification successfully purified DCaseH from inclusion bodies that were mostly composed of the overexpressed DCaseH, while the attempt to refold the purified enzyme by either dialysis or solid-state refolding was not achieved. The purified native enzyme was optimally active at pH 6.5 and 50 degrees C, and the presence of 10% glycerol increased the activity. The molecular modeling of dimeric DCaseH indicated that the six-His tags were freely exposed to the protein surface, resulting in the selective and effective IMAC purification of DCaseH.     

Chromatographic behaviour of glucose 1- and 2-oxidases from fungal strains on immobilized metal chelates

Glucose 2-oxidase (EC 1.1.3.10) from Coriolus versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium and glucose 1-oxidase (EC 1.1.3.4) from Aspergillus niger bound to a CU(II)-IDA column in the pH range of 6–8. However, glucose 1-oxidase from Penicillium amagasakiense bound only partially to a CU(II)-IDA column at pH 8.0. Metal chelates containing either Ni(II) or Zn(II) were useful in the adsorption of glucose 2-oxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium. The binding of glucose 2-oxidase from P. chrysosporium to Ni(II) and Zn(II)-IDA agarose columns increases as a function of pH of the buffer system. The adsorption of glucose oxidases on metal(II)-IDA chelates was due to the available histidine residues on enzyme molecules since the addition of imidazole in the buffer system abolished the binding of glucose oxidases to these columns. Both glucose oxidases from C.versicolor, P. chrysosporium and A. niger were purified in one step by immobilized metal affinity chromatography on metal(II)-IDA agarose columns with a recovery of enzyme activity in the range of 80–91%. Purified preparations of glucose oxidases from fungal strains were apparently homogeneous on native PAGE and SDS-PAGE. Immobilized metal affinity chromatography was used to separate glucose 1-oxidase from the 2-oxidase on metal(II)-IDA agarose columns which was confirmed by analysis of the reaction products by HPLC. The different chromatographic behaviour of glucose oxidases on metal(II)-IDA chelates is apparently due to the number and spatial distribution of available histidine residues on these enzyme molecules. Received 12 May 1998/ Accepted in revised form 29 July 1998     

Monoclonal Antibodies Recognize Conformational Epitopes on Wild-type and Recombinant Mutant Amidases from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas aeruginosa</Emphasis>

Hybridoma technology was used to raise monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against wild-type amidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Hybridoma clones secreting polyol-responsive MAbs (PR-MAbs) were screened that bind antigen tightly. but release under mild- and non-denaturing elution conditions, which can be used as ligands in immunoaffinity chromatography. Two of these hybridoma clones (C9E4 and B1E4) secreting MAbs against wild-type amidase were selected in order to check if they are PR-MAbs by using ELISA-elution assay. These hybridoma cell lines secreted MAbs of IgG class which were purified in a single step by Protein A-Sepharose CL-4B chromatography, which revealed two protein bands on SDS-PAGE. Specificity studies of MAb C9E4 revealed that it recognized a common epitope on wild-type and mutant T103I amidases as determined by direct ELISA, as well as by Western blotting under native conditions. This MAb exhibited a higher-affinity constant (K) for the mutant T103I amidase than for the wild-type enzyme. However, this MAb did not recognize either wild-type or mutant T103I enzymes under denaturing conditions suggesting that it binds to a conformation-sensitive epitope on amidase molecule. On the other hand, it also does not recognize either native or denatured forms of mutant C91A amidase suggesting that this substitution disrupted the conformational epitope present on amidase molecule. Furthermore, MAb C9E4 inhibited about 80% of wild-type amidase activity, whereas it activated about 80% of mutant amidase (T103I) activity. However, this MAb did not affect mutant C91A amidase activity which is in agreement with other results presented in this work. The data presented in this work suggest that this MAb acts as a powerful probe to detect conformational changes in native and denatured amidases as well as to differentiate wild-type and mutant (T103I and C91A) amidases.     

Recovery and purification of aprotinin from industrial insulin-processing effluent by immobilized chymotrypsin and negative IMAC chromatographies

Aprotinin, a bovine protease inhibitor currently also produced in recombinant bacteria, yeast, and corn, has valuable applications as a human therapeutic and in tissue culture. The objective of this work was to develop the basis of a large-scale aprotinin purification process centered on immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC). This technique uses ligands—metal ions—of a lower cost and higher stability than those traditionally used in affinity chromatography. Since aprotinin does not interact with IMAC ligands, collection is from the nonretained fractions (negative chromatography). Stirred-tank batch IMAC adsorption experiments indicated that one-step aprotinin purification could not be successful. Immobilized chymotrypsin chromatography was then used as a prepurification step, yielding a suitable feed for IMAC (with purification factors as high as 476). IMAC column fed with these prepurified materials produced purified aprotinin in the nonretained fractions with purification factors as high as 952.     

Separation of human Fab fragments on negative mode Ni(II)-TREN-agarose chromatography

We evaluated the feasibility of using immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) with nickel ion complexed with Tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TREN) immobilized on agarose gel for purification of human Fab fragments by negative chromatography. Efficient purification of Fab fragments from digested human IgG (immunoglobulin G) (106.4% purity) was accomplished in Tris-HCl buffer at pH 7.5 without NaCl (based on total protein concentration and radial immunodiffusion of human Fab). A technological application of Ni(II)-TREN-agarose using non transgenic soybean protein extract spiked with human Fab fragments as feedstream was also studied. Experiments using Tris-HCl at pH 7.0 as loading buffer allowed the adsorption of almost all of the soybean proteins. Sixty-six percent of the loaded human Fab fragments were recovered in the flowthrough and washing fractions with about 90% purity. These results demonstrate that Ni(II)-TREN-agarose is a potential adsorbent for recombinant Fab fragment purification.     

Nucleic acid separations utilizing immobilized metal affinity chromatography

Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) is widely used for protein purification, e.g., in the isolation of proteins bearing the well-known hexahistidine affinity tag. We report that IMAC matrixes can also adsorb single-stranded nucleic acids through metal ion interactions with aromatic base nitrogens and propose that metal affinity technologies may find widespread application in nucleic acid technology. Oligonucleotide duplexes, plasmid, and genomic DNA show low IMAC binding affinity, while RNA and single-stranded oligonucleotides bind strongly to matrixes such as Cu(II) iminodiacetic acid (IDA) agarose. The affinity of yeast RNA for IDA-chelated metal ions decreases in the following order: Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), and Co(II). Adsorption isotherms for 20-mer oligonucleotide homopolymers show that purines are strongly favored over pyrimidines and that double-stranded duplexes are not bound. IMAC columns have been used to purify plasmid DNA from E. coli alkaline lysates, to purify a ribozyme, to remove primers and imperfect products from PCR reactions, and to separate 20-mer oligonucleotide duplexes containing centered single-base mismatches. Potential further applications include SNP scoring, hybridization assays, and the isolation of polyadenylated messenger RNA.     

Selective separation of caseinophosphopeptides through immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography: effects of pH values, salt concentrations and degree of phosphorylation

A method based on immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) using a CS-IDA-Cu(II) gel is described for the separation of caseinophosphopeptides (CPPs) from a casein hydrolysate. According to the amino acid sequence and the degree of phosphorylation, operating parameters, such as pH values, salt concentrations for selective purification of different CPPs can be designed.     

Purification of human serum amyloid P component (SAP) by calcium affinity chromatography

Serum amyloid P component (SAP) has been purified from human serum by means of immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC). It was selectively concentrated on carboxymethylated aspartic acid agarose (CM-Asp-agarose) loaded with calcium and, employing very mild conditions, purified to electrophoretical and immunological homogeneity in a single step amounting to about 1900-fold purification. As a purification method our procedure thus compares well with bio-specific affinity chromatography.     

Selective adsorption of apoferritin on immobilized Fe(III): demonstration of Fe(III) binding sites

Immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography has been used to demonstrate and partially characterize Fe(III) binding sites on apoferritin. Binding of Fe(III) to these sites is influenced by pH, but not affected by high ionic strength. These results suggest that both ionic and coordinate covalent interactions are important in the formation of the Fe(III): apoferritin complex. This is, to our knowledge, the first demonstration of direct Fe(III) binding to apoferritin. Other immobilized metal ions, including Zn(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Cr(III), Co(II), and Tb(III), displayed little or no adsorption of apoferritin. The analytical technique of immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography also shows great promise in the purification of apoferritin, ferritin, and other iron-binding proteins.     

Immobilized palladium(II) ion affinity chromatography for recovery of recombinant proteins with peptide tags containing histidine and cysteine

Fusion of peptide‐based tags to recombinant proteins is currently one of the most used tools for protein production. Also, immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) has a huge application in protein purification, especially in research labs. The combination of expression systems of recombinant tagged proteins with this robust chromatographic system has become an efficient and rapid tool to produce milligram‐range amounts of proteins. IMAC‐Ni(II) columns have become the natural partners of 6xHis‐tagged proteins. The Ni(II) ion is considered as the best compromise of selectivity and affinity for purification of a recombinant His‐tagged protein. The palladium(II) ion is also able to bind to side chains of amino acids and form ternary complexes with iminodiacetic acid and free amino acids and other sulfur‐containing molecules. In this work, we evaluated two different cysteine‐ and histidine‐containing six amino acid tags linked to the N‐terminal group of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and studied the adsorption and elution conditions using novel eluents. Both cysteine‐containing tagged GFPs were able to bind to IMAC‐Pd(II) matrices and eluted successfully using a low concentration of thiourea solution. The IMAC‐Ni(II) system reaches less than 20% recovery of the cysteine‐containing tagged GFP from a crude homogenate of recombinant Escherichia coli, meanwhile the IMAC‐Pd(II) yields a recovery of 45% with a purification factor of 13. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-level expression of his-tagged clostridial collagenase in Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium histolyticum collagenase is used to isolate cells from various organs and tissues for tissue engineering, and also to treat destructive fibrosis; thus, the demand for high-grade enzyme preparations is increasing. In this study, we constructed a plasmid encoding C. histolyticum type II collagenase (ColH) with a C-terminal hexahistidine tag (ColH-his) to facilitate the purification of the enzyme through immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). When ColH-his was expressed in a protease-deficient mutant of Clostridium perfringens, it was produced in the culture supernatant more efficiently than the untagged ColH. ColH-his exhibited the same hydrolytic activity as ColH against 4-phenylazobenzyloxy-carbonyl-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-D: -Arg (Pz peptide), a synthetic collagenase substrate. From 100 ml of the culture supernatant, approximately 1 mg of ColH-his was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, IMAC, and high-performance liquid chromatography on a MonoQ column. When IMAC was performed on chelating Sepharose charged with Zn(2+) instead of Ni(2+), a potential carcinogenic metal, the specific activities against Pz peptide and type I collagen decreased slightly. However, they were comparable to those reported for other recombinant ColHs and a commercial C. histolyticum collagenase preparation, suggesting that this expression system is useful for large-scale preparation of high-grade clostridial collagenases.     

Purification of human interleukin-2 fusion protein produced in insect larvae is facilitated by fusion with green fluorescent protein and metal affinity ligand

The fusion protein of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and human interleukin-2 (hIL-2) was produced in insect Trichoplusia ni larvae infected with recombinant baculovirus derived from the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV). This fusion protein was composed of a metal ion binding site (His)6 for rapid one-step purification using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), UV-optimized GFP (GFPuv), enterokinase cleavage site for recovering hIL-2 from purified fusion protein, and hIL-2 protein. The additional histidine residues on fusion protein enabled the efficient purification of fusion protein based on immobilized metal affinity chromatography. In addition to advantages of GFP as a fusion marker, GFP was able to be used as a selectable purification marker; we easily determined the correct purified fusion protein sample fraction by simply detecting GFP fluorescence.     

Tagging retrovirus vectors with a metal binding peptide and one-step purification by immobilized metal affinity chromatography

Retroviral vectors produced from packaging cells are invariably contaminated by protein, nucleic acid, and other substances introduced in the manufacturing process. Elimination of these contaminants from retroviral vector preparations is helpful to reduce unwanted side effects, and purified vector preparations are desirable to improve reproducibility of therapeutic effect. Here we report a novel approach to engineer a metal binding peptide (MBP)-tagged murine leukemia virus (MuLV), allowing for one-step purification of retroviral vectors by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). We inserted a His6 peptide into an ecotropic envelope protein (Env) by replacing part of its hypervariable region sequence with a sequence encoding the His6 peptide. Display of the His6 tag on the surface of Env endowed the vectors with a high affinity for immobilized metal ions, such as nickel. We demonstrated that the His6-tagged MuLV could be produced to high titers and could be highly purified by one-step IMAC. The protein and DNA contaminants in the purified vector supernatants were below 7 microg/ml and 25 pg/ml, respectively, indicating a 1,229-fold reduction in protein contaminant level and a 6,800-fold reduction in DNA contaminant level. About 56% of the viral vectors were recovered in the IMAC purification. The purified vectors retained their functionality and infectivity. These results establish that an MBP can be functionally displayed on the surface of ecotropic retroviruses without interfering with their integrity, and MBP-tagged retroviral vectors can be highly purified by one-step IMAC.     

Adsorption of human serum proteins onto TREN-agarose: Purification of human IgG by negative chromatography

Tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TREN) – a chelating agent used in IMAC – immobilized onto agarose gel was evaluated for the purification of IgG from human serum by negative chromatography. A one-step purification process allowed the recovery of 73.3% of the loaded IgG in the nonretained fractions with purity of 90–95% (based on total protein concentration and nephelometric analysis of albumin, transferrin, and immunoglobulins A, G, and M). The binding capacity was relatively high (66.63 mg of human serum protein/mL). These results suggest that this negative chromatography is a potential technique for purification of IgG from human serum.     

重组人Fab金属螯合层析法纯化条件的研究

在重组人Fab(rh Fab)表达载体的羧基端插入六个组氨酸, 使其对金属螯合层析介质产生特异性吸附, 可用金属螯合亲和层析法进行分离纯化. 采用自制金属(铜、锌金属离子)螯合层析介质, 以pH和咪唑两种洗脱方法,对rh Fab段的纯化效果进行了探讨. 结果显示: 铜离子螯合层析介质比锌离子螯合层析介质对rh Fab的亲和能力更强; pH洗脱方法的重复性优于咪唑法; 金属铜离子螯合层析法对rh Fab进行一步纯化可得到纯度大于95%的rh Fab产品.     

Chelating peptide-immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography. A new concept in affinity chromatography for recombinant proteins

We report our experimental results supporting the hypothesis that a specific metal-chelating peptide (CP) on the NH2 terminus of a protein can be used to purify that protein using immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC). The potential utility of this approach resides with recombinant proteins since the nucleotide sequence that codes for the protein can be extended to include codons for the chelating peptide and thereby generate the gene for a chimeric CP-protein that can be cloned, expressed, and affinity-purified with immobilized metal ions. The chelating peptide purification handle could then be removed chemically or enzymatically after purification has been achieved to generate a protein with the natural amino acid sequence. The feasibility of using a chelating peptide as a purification handle has been demonstrated using a leuteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analog, 2-10 LHRH, which contains the previously identified chelating peptide, His-Trp, on the NH2 terminus. 2-10 LHRH had a high affinity for a Ni(II) IMAC column due to the NH2-terminal dipeptide sequence His-Trp, forming a coordination complex with Ni(II), whereas the controls, 3-10 LHRH and 4-10 LHRH, lacking the CP sequence, did not bind. Furthermore, 2-10 LHRH could be purified from a mixture of histidine-containing peptides on a Ni(II) IMAC column in one step. His-Trp proinsulin was used as a model of a recombinant CP-protein. The S-sulfonates of His-Trp-proinsulin and proinsulin were isolated from Escherichia coli engineered to overproduce these proteins as trpLE' fusion proteins. His-Trp-proinsulin(SSO3-)6 had a higher affinity for immobilized Ni(II) than proinsulin (SSO3-)6. Both proteins were eluted by decreasing the pH or by introducing a displacing ligand into the buffer. Ni(II) eluted from the column with much higher concentrations of displacing ligand than the proteins.