One-step purification of proteins from chicken egg white using counter-current chromatography

Proteins present in chicken egg white are separated by counter-current chromatography (CCC) in one step using a cross-axis coil planet centrifuge (X-axis CPC). The separation was performed with an aqueous polymer two-phase system composed of 16% (w/w) poly(ethylene glycol) 1000 and 12.5% (w/w) dibasic potassium phosphate by eluting the lower phase at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. From about 20 g of the crude egg white solution, lysozyme, ovalbumin, and ovotransferrin were resolved within 5.5 h. Each component was identified by 12% SDS gel electrophoresis with Coomassie brilliant blue staining.     

Evaluation of the performance of protein separation in figure-8 centrifugal counter-current chromatography

The performance of protein separation using the figure-8 column configuration in centrifugal counter-current chromatography was investigated under various flow rates and revolution speeds. The separation was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of polyethylene glycol 1000/potassium phosphate each at 12.5% (w/w) in water and with lysozyme and myoglobin as test samples. In order to improve tracing of the elution curve, a hollow fiber membrane dialyzer was inserted at the inlet of the UV detector. The results showed that the retention of stationary phase (Sf) and resolution (Rs) increased with decreased flow rate and increased revolution speed. The highest Rs of approximately 1 was obtained at a flow rate of 0.01 mL/min under a revolution speed of 1200 rpm with a 3.4 mL capacity column.     

Purification of lactic acid dehydrogenase from crude bovine heart extract by pH-peak focusing counter-current chromatography

pH-peak focusing counter-current chromatography (CCC) was applied to the purification of lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH) from a crude bovine heart extract using a cross-axis coil planet centrifuge (CPC). The experiment was performed with two sets of polymer phase systems composed of 16% (w/w) polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1000-12.5% (w/w) potassium phosphate buffer and 15% (w/w) PEG 1540-15% (w/w) ammonium sulfate each at various pH values. The best result was achieved from the PEG 1540-ammonium sulfate polymer phase system by adding a retainer (10 mM acetic acid) to the upper stationary phase and an eluter (100 mM sodium hydroxide) to the lower mobile phase. At a flow-rate of 0.5 ml/min, LDH was eluted as a sharp peak which was well resolved from other proteins. Collected fractions were analyzed by the LDH enzymatic activity and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis to detect contaminated proteins. LDH was purified directly from crude bovine heart extract in a concentrated state.     

Subcellular fractionation of rat liver homogenates using two-polymer phase systems in a toroidal-coil centrifuge.

The principal organelles of rat liver homogenates were fractionated by two-phase partition chromatography using toroidal-coil centrifugation with a mixture of dextran T 500 and poly(ethylene glycol) 6000 in 0.26 M-sucrose containing 10 mM-sodium phosphate/phosphoric acid buffer, pH 7.4. The effects of varying the following parameters on organelle elution profiles, as reflected by their marker-enzyme activities, were studied: centrifuge speed; the composition and relative proportion of dextran-rich and poly(ethylene glycol)-rich phases in the eluent; flow rate; sample volume; homogenate concentration; helix diameter; tubing bore and the number of loops in the coil. Optimal resolution of the organelles was achieved with a toroidal coil of internal diameter 1.07 mm with a 4.55 mm helix diameter on a 0.42 m-diameter rotor running at 1000 rev./min. The eluent was prepared by combining, in a ratio of 93:7 (v/v), the poly(ethylene glycol)-rich upper phase and dextran-rich lower phase obtained from a phase mixture containing 3.3% (w/w) dextran and 5.4% (w/w) poly(ethylene glycol). The flow rate of the eluent was 14ml/h. Optimal conditions for separation of the organelles were evaluated. Resolution of plasma membrane and lysosomes was achieved. Separation of endoplasmic reticulum, which showed marked heterogeneity, from plasma membrane was also demonstrated. DNA and marker enzymes for peroxisomes, mitochondria and cytosol showed distinct elution profiles.     

Optical resolution of some biologically active compounds by chiral liquid chromatography on BSA-silica (resolvosil) columns

Optical resolution on the analytical scale of a number of racemic pharmaceuticals and some other biologically active compounds has been studied using immobilized bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the stationary phase. For some of the compounds the elution order was determined by the use of optically enriched fractions obtained from a preceding passage of a sample through a preparative column containing microcrystalline triacetylcellulose (MCTA). The reversal in the sign of optical rotation shown in the polarimetric elution profile from the latter, combined with the integrated peak area ratio obtained on resolution on the analytical column, gave directly the order of elution. For one of the benzothiadiazines studied (bendroflumethiazide), increasing the pH of the mobile phase produced opposite effects on the retention of the two enantiomers, leading to a large effect on the separation factor. For many of the compounds studied, high separation factors (α > 2) could be achieved.     

Predicting the elution behavior of proteins in affinity chromatography on non-porous particles.

Affinity chromatography on non-porous particles of microsize is particularly useful for the rapid analysis and micropreparative separation of proteins. The elution behavior of proteins in an affinity column packed with non-porous copolymerized particles of styrene, methyl methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate was investigated both theoretically and experimentally, using the lysozyme-Cibacron Blue 3G-A affinity system. Equations used to predict the elution profiles, resulting from the elution by increasing the ionic strength (NaCl concentration) in the mobile phase, were obtained. The maximum adsorbate concentration, desorption rate constant and equilibrium constant under elution conditions were determined by matching experimental data with predicted elution profiles. Based on the parameters determined at a flow-rate of 0.5 ml/min and with 1 M NaCl in the elution buffer, the model equations could predict the elution profiles for other experimental runs, where different flow-rates and sodium chloride concentrations were used. Both the experimental and predicted results revealed that the affinity interaction kinetics are not significantly influenced by the flow-rate and, hence, the film mass transfer. To elute bound lysozyme from immobilized dye ligand, a higher value of the ionic strength leads to a faster elution and a sharper elution peak. The influence of elution conditions on the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters and, consequently, on the elution peak profiles was evaluated. The model equations can also predict the behavior of protein elution from an affinity column by changing the pH of the mobile phase, according to a previous study.     

Two-dimensional microcolumn separation platform for proteomics consisting of on-line coupled capillary isoelectric focusing and capillary electrochromatography. 1. Evaluation of the capillary-based two-dimensional platform with proteins, peptides, and human serum

In this report, an on-line coupling of capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) to capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is developed via a nanoinjector valve for performing two-dimensional (2D) proteomics separation. CIEF constitutes the first separation dimension, while CEC operates as the second separation dimension. Besides the orthogonal migration mechanisms of the two capillary-based separation modes, which lead to a 2D system whose overall peak capacity is the product of the peak capacity of the individual modes, the solvent of the CIEF mode is a weak eluent for the reversed-phase CEC (RP-CEC) mode, thus, allowing the transferring of focused fractions from CIEF to CEC without inducing band broadening, and instead zone sharpening would result. In fact, the transferred focused protein fraction from the CIEF column to the CEC column will stay tightly adsorbed to the inlet top of the CEC column until it will be eluted and separated into its protein components with a hydro-organic mobile phase. The theoretical peak capacity of the CIEF-CEC 2D platform is estimated at n(CIEF) (= 560) x n(CEC) (= 97) = 54 320. This peak capacity is more than needed for proteomics profiling. Also, only a fraction of this peak capacity is needed when looking at heart cuts for performing subproteomics. The 2D platform described here offers the convenience to generate the needed peak capacity to solve a given proteomic separation problem. This is facilitated by the RP-CEC dimension, which ensures rapid isocratic separation of proteins and peptides and rapid solvent change and column equilibration and avoids lengthy gradient elution. The RP-CEC column is based on neutral C17 monolith, which offers high separation efficiency and relatively high column permeability. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed 2D platform combining CIEF and CEC is reported for the first time for proteins and proteomics.     

Polyethylene-based high-performance liquid chromatography of chloroplast pigments: resolution of mono- and divinyl chlorophyllides and other pigment mixtures

In addition to most chlorophylls and their derivatives, monovinyl and divinyl chlorophyll species were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography, using a polyethylene column and a simple elution with aqueous acetone. Peak retention and resolution of the pigment separation were greatly increased by increasing the polarity of the mobile phase and also by decreasing the column temperature. Polyethylene chromatography showed chlorophyll separation behavior similar to that of the octadecyl silica column, but it showed no adsorption of the pigment species containing free carboxylic acid groups, enabling the complete separation of chlorophylls and their derivatives. Polyethylene is a superior alternative stationary phase to the known reversed-phase materials for chlorophyll separation and analysis.     

Monolithic capillary columns for liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in proteomic and genomic research

Peptides, proteins, single-stranded oligonucleotides, and double-stranded DNA fragments were separated with high resolution in micropellicular, monolithic capillary columns prepared by in situ radical copolymerization of styrene and divinylbenzene. Miniaturized chromatography both in the reversed-phase and the ion-pair reversed-phase mode could be realized in the same capillary column because of the nonpolar character of the poly-(styrene/divinylbenzene) stationary phase. The high chromatographic performance of the monolithic stationary phase facilitated the generation of peak capacities for the biopolymers in the range of 50-140 within 10 min under gradient elution conditions. Employing volatile mobile phase components, separations in the two chromatographic separation modes were on-line hyphenated to electrospray ionization (tandem) mass spectrometry, which yielded intact accurate molecular masses as well as sequence information derived from collision-induced fragmentation. The inaccuracy of mass determination in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer was in the range of 0.01-0.02% for proteins up to a molecular mass of 20000, and 0.02-0.12% for DNA fragments up to a molecular mass of 310000. High-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry utilizing monolithic capillary columns was applied to the identification of proteins by peptide mass fingerprinting, tandem mass spectrometric sequencing, or intact molecular mass determination, as well as to the accurate sizing of double-stranded DNA fragments ranging in size from 50 to 500 base pairs, and to the detection of sequence variations in DNA fragments amplified by the polymerase chain reaction.     

Reversed-phase HPLC enantioseparation of pantoprazole using a teicoplanin aglycone stationary phase—Determination of the enantiomer elution order using HPLC-CD analyses

A direct HPLC method was developed for the enantioseparation of pantoprazole using macrocyclic glycopeptide-based chiral stationary phases, along with various methods to determine the elution order without isolation of the individual enantiomers. In the preliminary screening, four macrocyclic glycopeptide-based chiral stationary phases containing vancomycin (Chirobiotic V), ristocetin A (Chirobiotic R), teicoplanin (Chirobiotic T), and teicoplanin-aglycone (Chirobiotic TAG) were screened in polar organic and reversed-phase mode. Best results were achieved by using Chirobiotic TAG column and a methanol-water mixture as mobile phase. Further method optimization was performed using a face-centered central composite design to achieve the highest chiral resolution. Optimized parameters, offering baseline separation (resolution = 1.91 ± 0.03) were as follows: Chirobiotic TAG stationary phase, thermostated at 10°C, mobile phase consisting of methanol/20mM ammonium acetate 60:40 v/v, and 0.6 mL/min flow rate. Enantiomer elution order was determined using HPLC hyphenated with circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy detection. The online CD signals of the separated pantoprazole enantiomers at selected wavelengths were compared with the structurally analogous esomeprazole enantiomer. For further verification, the inline rapid, multiscan CD signals were compared with the quantum chemically calculated CD spectra. Furthermore, docking calculations were used to investigate the enantiorecognition at molecular level. The molecular docking shows that the R-enantiomer binds stronger to the chiral selector than its antipode, which is in accordance with the determined elution order on the column—S- followed by the R-isomer. Thus, combined methods, HPLC-CD and theoretical calculations, are highly efficient in predicting the elution order of enantiomers.     

Chemochromatography: its use for the separation of nikkomycins X and Z

A novel mode of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography in which the mobile phase reacts chemically with the compounds to be separated was developed. Nikkomycin X and nikkomycin Z, two natural isomeric nucleoside peptide antibiotics, move as a single peak on a C18 reversed-phase column using an aqueous trifluoroacetic acid mobile phase. Addition of sodium bisulfite (1.0%) to the mobile phase results in the formation of a polar bisulfite addition product with nikkomycin X, but not with nikkomycin Z, inside the HPLC column. This type of reactive chromatography, or chemochromatography, led to the analytical and preparative separation of nikkomycins X and Z which are normally very intractable to separation by conventional chromatographic techniques.     

A new reversed phase, paired ion thin-layer chromatographic method for steroid sulfate separations

The sulfoconjugated steroids estrone sulfate (ES) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DS) were separated in the reversed phase mode on polyamide-coated TLC plates. Baseline resolution was obtained between tritiated ES and DS standards when run with a mobile phase of 20% acetonitrile in 5mM aqueous triethylamine, triethanolamine, tris-hydroxymethylaminomethane, tributylamine or ammonia. ES and DS showed no mobility in the absence of an ion-pair reagent. The radioactive peaks were detected and integrated non-destructively by scanning. Quantitation was confirmed by elution of cut-out peak areas and liquid scintillation counting. Similar results were obtained with washed ethanol extracts of serum labeled with tritiated ES and DS. The extracts were defatted on the plate with hexane: ethyl acetate (1:1) prior to the reversed phase development.     

Comparison of polysaccharide-based and protein-based chiral liquid chromatography columns for enantioseparation of drugs

Two different columns—Lux Cellulose-1 and Chiralpak CBH—were evaluated for their chiral recognition abilities for eight drugs comprising three β-blockers, one antacid, and four cathinones in polar-organic elution mode and reversed-phase elution mode, respectively. The factors that affected the enantioseparation were tested and optimized to develop a suitable chiral separation method whose LC conditions are compatible with MS detection. In polar-organic elution mode with the Lux Cellulose-1 column, methanol and acetonitrile were tested as the main components of the mobile phase. In addition, the effects of adding isopropanol as organic modifier, acidic additives (formic acid), and basic additives (diethylamine) were evaluated. In reversed-phase elution mode with the Chiralpak CBH column, the effect of type and concentration of organic modifier (isopropanol, acetonitrile, and methanol), the mobile phase pH (6.4 and 5.0), and buffer concentration (1mM-20mM ammonium acetate) were evaluated. The best enantioseparation was achieved with the Chiralpak CBH column with a mobile phase composed of 5mM ammonium acetate aqueous (pH = 6.4)/methanol (95/5, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.1 mL/min and a temperature of 30°C. Under these conditions, six of eight chiral drugs were baseline separated.     

Purification of alcohol dehydrogenase from bovine liver crude extract by dye-ligand affinity counter-current chromatography

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was extracted from a crude bovine liver homogenate by dye-ligand affinity counter-current chromatography (CCC) using a cross-axis coil planet centrifuge (x-axis CPC). The purification was performed using two types of polymer phase systems composed of 4.4% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000-7.0% dextran T500-0.1 M potassium phosphate buffers and 16% PEG 1000-12.5% potassium phosphate buffers, both containing a procion red dye as an affinity ligand at various pH values. The best purification was achieved using the PEG 1000-potassium phosphate system at pH 7.3 containing 0.05% procion red as a ligand. The upper PEG-rich phase containing procion red was used as the stationary phase and a crude bovine liver homogenate was eluted with the potassium phosphate-rich lower phase at 0.5 ml/min. After elution of bovine liver proteins in the homogenate, ADH still retained in the stationary phase was collected from the column by eluting with the PEG 1000-rich upper phase. Collected fractions were analyzed by ADH enzymatic activity and by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to detect contaminant proteins in the ADH fractions. The ADH was purified directly from crude bovine liver extract within 6h with minimum loss of its enzymatic activity.     

Study on the HPLC‐based separation of some ezetimibe stereoisomers and the underlying stereorecognition process

The enantioseparation of ezetimibe stereoisomers by high‐performance liquid chromatography on different chiral stationary phases, ie, 3 polysaccharide‐based chiral columns, was studied. It was observed that cellulose‐based Chiralpak IC column exhibited the best resolving ability. After the optimization of mobile phase compositions in both normal and reversed phase modes, satisfactory separation could be obtained on Chiralpak IC column, especially in normal phase mode. The use of prohibited solvents as nonstandard mobile phase gave rise to better resolution than that of standard mobile phases (n‐hexane/alcohol system). In addition, the presence of ethanol in nonstandard mobile phase has played an important role in enhancing chromatographic efficiency and resolution between ezetimibe stereoisomers. Various attempts were made to comprehensively compare the chiral recognition capabilities of immobilized versus coated polysaccharide‐based chiral columns, amylose‐based versus cellulose‐based chiral stationary phases, reversed versus normal phase modes, and standard versus nonstandard mobile phases. Moreover, possible solute‐mobile phase‐stationary phase interactions were derived to explain how stationary and mobile phases affected the separation. Then the method validation with respect to selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and robustness was carried out, which was demonstrated to be suitable and accurate for the quantitative determination of (RRS)‐ezetimibe impurity in ezetimibe bulk drug.     

Direct high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of an aromatic amine and four aminoalcohols using polysaccharide chiral stationary phases and acidic additive

The HPLC enantiomeric separation of N-benzyl-alpha-methyl-benzylamine, phenylalaninol, tryptophanol, 2 (diphenylhydroxymethyl)pyrrolidine, and isoproterenol was accomplished in the normal-phase mode using two polysaccharide-derived chiral stationary phases (CSPs) and various n-hexane/2-propanol mobile phases with acidic (TFA) or basic (DEA) additive. The compounds were separated without any derivatization and separation factor range between 2.09 and 1.09 with resolution factor 3.4 and 0.4, respectively. The best separation of the enantiomers of the amine was achieved on amylose tris (3, 5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) CSP with TFA additive in the mobile phase; in acidic conditions, instead, the best enantioseparation of the aminoalcohols was achieved on cellulose tris (3, 5-dimethylphenilcarbamate). A long equilibration time of the CSP when switching from an undoped mobile phase to a doped one is required to obtain reproducible results.     

Membrane chromatographic method for the rapid purification of vitellogenin from fish plasma

A membrane chromatographic method was developed for the rapid purification of vitellogenin (Vtg) from the plasma of 17beta-estradiol induced loach (Misgurnus angaillicaud atus) and carp (Cyprinus carpio). The time required for the proposed procedure is less then 10 min at a flow-rate of 5 ml/min of the mobile phase, and 0.5 ml of fish plasma could be separated in one cycle. Multistep gradient elution was more suitable for the separation than linear gradient elution. Under optimized conditions, a single Vtg peak can be obtained and its identity was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and gel-permeation chromatography assessment. This method is rapid and easy to operate compared to conventional HPLC and FPLC columns for Vtg separation.     

Chiral HPLC analysis of milnacipran and its FMOC-derivative on cellulose-based stationary phases

The HPLC enantioseparation of the last generation antidepressive drug milnacipran (+/-)-1 was investigated on different cellulose-based chiral stationary phases (CSPs). On carbamate-type columns, Chiralcel OD and OD-H (+/-)-1 could be separated with alpha value about 1.20 but the resolution was quite low because of the tailing of the peaks. Direct determination of (+/-)-1 with high selectivity and resolution was obtained on Chiralcel OJ in normal phase mode elution. Precolumn derivatization of milnacipran with Fmoc-Cl gave compound (+/-)-2 which was enantioseparated on all the investigated CSPs and allowed enhanced UV or fluorimetric detection. The Chiralpak IB, that could be considered the immobilized version of Chiralcel OD-H, was found completely ineffective in the chiral recognition of (+/-)-1 and moderately efficient in the separation of (+/-)-2.     

Improved high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the pharmacokinetic studies of a novel iron chelator, CP502, in rats

An improved reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method (RP-HPLC) for the determination of a novel iron chelator CP502 (1,6-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-4-(1H)-pyridinone-2-carboxy-(N-methyl)-amide hydrochloride) in rat plasma, urine and feces was developed and validated. The separation was performed on a polymeric column using a mobile phase composed of 1mM ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid disodium salt (EDTA), acetonitrile, methanol and methylene chloride. Separation of CP502 from plasma, urine or feces endogenous compounds was achieved by gradient elution. Retention times of CP502 and its major metabolite (glucuronide) were about 13 and 4 min, respectively. The method was validated in terms of limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), selectivity (endogenous from plasma, urine or feces), linearity, extraction recovery, robustness (column selection, mobile phase composition, detection mode, internal standard (IS) selection, analyte stability), day-to-day reproducibility and system suitability (repeatability, peak symmetry and resolution). The method is applicable to bioavailability and pharmacokinetic studies of CP502 in rats.     

Effect of Basic and Acidic Additives on the Separation of Some Basic Drug Enantiomers on Polysaccharide‐Based Chiral Columns With Acetonitrile as Mobile Phase

The separation of enantiomers of 16 basic drugs was studied using polysaccharide‐based chiral selectors and acetonitrile as mobile phase with emphasis on the role of basic and acidic additives on the separation and elution order of enantiomers. Out of the studied chiral selectors, amylose phenylcarbamate‐based ones more often showed a chiral recognition ability compared to cellulose phenylcarbamate derivatives. An interesting effect was observed with formic acid as additive on enantiomer resolution and enantiomer elution order for some basic drugs. Thus, for instance, the enantioseparation of several β‐blockers (atenolol, sotalol, toliprolol) improved not only by the addition of a more conventional basic additive to the mobile phase, but also by the addition of an acidic additive. Moreover, an opposite elution order of enantiomers was observed depending on the nature of the additive (basic or acidic) in the mobile phase. Chirality 27:228–234, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.