High performance liquid chromatographic properties of peptides and proteins on a dihydroxyalkyl bonded silica stationary phase

The chromatographic behavior of biologically relevant peptides and proteins in the molecular weight range between 200 and 200,000 dalton units were studied on a size exclusion matrix column consisting of an aqueous compatible dihydroxyalkyl bonded silica support. The mechanism of separation appears to be dependent on hydrodynamic radius, hydrophobic and ionic interactions. Support for this contention is based on the chromatographic properties of these peptides and proteins at different mobile phase ionic strengths and pH, oxidation state of amino acid residues and total hydrophobicity of the peptide or protein. This column is also capable of separating native angiotensin-I from its iodinated congener. Recoveries of proteins and peptides from this column ranged between 70–100%. Unlike typical reverse phase separations, this modified silica chromatographic media allows for an alternative technique employing aqueous eluents for rapid separation/isolation and purification of peptides and proteins from natural or synthetic sources.     

High-performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography of proteins

A new, weakly hydrophobic, high-performance liquid chromatography column has been developed for the separation of native proteins based on their relative hydrophobicities. Starting with a covalently bound, hydrophilic polyamine matrix, packing materials were synthesized through acylation with anhydrides and acid chlorides of increasing chain length to obtain increasingly hydrophobic surfaces. Proteins in aqueous buffers were induced to bind hydrophobically to the columns by the use of high salt concentrations in the mobile phase. Elution was achieved by decreasing the ionic strength of the solvent in a linear gradient. A mixture of cytochrome c, conalbumin, and beta-glucosidase was used as a standard to test the resolving power of newly synthesized columns. On a 4-cm butyrate column, baseline resolution was achieved in 20 min with a gradient of 3.0 mu sodium sulfate in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, to water. The static loading capacity for each column was determined using a hemoglobin binding assay. Capacities normally ranged between 150 and 180 mg of hemoglobin per gram of support. Since proteins are not denatured in hydrophobic interaction chromatography, enzymes eluted from the column retained enzymatic activity. Samples of alpha-amylase and beta-glucosidase ranging in size from 10 to 200 micrograms were recovered from the butyrate column with greater than 92% enzymatic activity in all cases. In a single trial, the enzyme citrate synthase was recovered from the benzoate column with 92% retention of enzymatic activity.     

Differences in hydrophobic properties for human alpha 2-macroglobulin and pregnancy zone protein as studied by affinity phase partitioning

Human alpha 2-macroglobulin and pregnancy zone protein are related with regard to primary structure, physicochemical properties, and quarternary structure. Both proteins undergo conformational changes when they form complexes with proteinases or react with primary amines. The surface properties of the native, chymotrypsin-treated and methylamine-treated forms of alpha 2-macroglobulin and pregnancy zone protein were studied by partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems composed of 7.5% dextran T70 and 5% poly(ethylene glycol) 8000. All proteins and their derivatives had a high potential for hydrophobic interaction as analyzed in terms of affinity for poly(ethylene glycol) esters of fatty acids included in the phase systems. Treatment of alpha 2-macroglobulin with methylamine or chymotrypsin increased the surface hydrophobicity significantly compared to that of the native protein. No difference in hydrophobic interaction was found for native and methylamine-treated pregnancy zone protein, but the chymotrypsin-treated protein showed a marked increase in binding to the hydrophobic ligand. The changes in surface hydrophobicity parallel changes in receptor binding properties of the derivatized forms of alpha 2-macroglobulin and could be a signal for binding to cell-surface receptors, followed by internalization.     

Analysis of hSCOMT adsorption in bioaffinity chromatography with immobilized amino acids: the influence of pH and ionic strength

In the last years, chromatographic supports with amino acids as immobilized ligands (AAILs) were been used successfully for isolation of several biomolecules, such as proteins. In this context and based on specific properties of human soluble cathecol-O-methyltransferase (hSCOMT), we screened and analyzed the effect of experimental conditions, such as pH and ionic strength manipulation for hSCOMT adsorption, over six different AAIL commercial supports. Typically, the proteins adsorption on AAIL chromatographic supports is around their pI. While hSCOMT isoelectric point is around 5.5, this parameter leads us to design new adsorption strategies with several acid buffers for the chromatographic process. In terms of the ionic strength manipulation strategy, the results suggest that the AAILs-hSCOMT interaction is strongly affected by the intrinsic hSCOMT hydrophobic domains. On the other hand, the interaction mechanism of hSCOMT on amino acid resins appears to be highly dependent on the binding pH. Consequently the retention mechanism of the target enzyme on the AAILs can be as either in typical hydrophobic or ionic chromatographic supports, so long as selecting various mobile phases and separation conditions. In spite of these mixed-mode interactions and operation strategies, the elution of interferent's proteins from recombinant host can be achieved only with suitable adjusts in pH mobile phase set point. This lead to a new approach in biochromatographic COMT retention, while possess a higher specificity than other chromatographic methods reported in literature.     

Analysis of conjugated bile acids by packed-column supercritical fluid chromatography

A rapid method has been developed for the simultaneous separation of the polar glycine- and taurine-conjugated bile acids by packed-column supercritical fluid chromatography. Samples were analysed on a cyanopropyl-bonded silica column with ultraviolet detection at 210 nm and carbon dioxide modified with methanol as the mobile phase. The influence of the stationary phase, modifier concentration, temperature, column pressure and modifier identity on retention was also studied. This new chromatographic method is applicable to the assay of conjugated bile acids in duodenal bile samples from patients with hepatobiliary diseases.     

Chromatographic properties of cytosine,cytidine and their synthetic analogues

A direct reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) assay was used for the study of the effects of methanol concentration, pH, flow-rate of the mobile phase and column temperature on the retention of the natural nucleic acid components cytosine and cytidine and their synthetic 1-β-d-arabinofuranosyl, 5-aza and 6-aza analogues. The pK_a values were also determined. The greatest changes were observed with changes in pH. The relationship between the capacity factors and the hydrophobicity of the compounds studied was also investigated.     

Surface hydrophobicity of hemoglobins A, F and S determined by gel filtration column chromatography in high-phosphate buffer

We found that hemoglobins A, F and S could be separated on TSK-GEL-SW columns by differences in surface hydrophobicity when eluted with 1.8 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. The elution pattern of the oxy- and deoxy-forms of hemoglobins A, S and F from a TSK-GEL-SW-type gel filtration column is useful for measuring surface hydrophobicity. The elution volumes of oxyhemoglobins F, A and S on the TSK-GEL-SW column in 1.8 M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, related linearly to the log of their solubility; the higher the surface hydrophobicity, the lower the solubility. There was no linear relationship between the solubilities and the elution volumes of these hemoglobins in the deoxy-form; deoxy-Hb S was far from the lines formed by deoxy-Hb A and deoxy-Hb F. These data suggest that the solubility of oxyhemoglobins is related to simple hydrophobic interactions caused by the total surface hydrophobicity, but the extremely low solubility of deoxy-Hb S must be the result of a stereospecific strong hydrophobic interaction between amino acids at the contact regions of deoxy-Hb S molecules.     

Determination of vanilmandelic acid in urine by coupled-column liquid chromatography combining affinity to boronate and separation by anion exchange

An automated liquid chromatographic method for assaying vanilmandelic acid in urine is described. Vanilmandelic acid and potential interfering substances, such as catechol compounds and their metabolites, have been tested for affinity to boronic acid-substituted silica at various pH values. Vanilmandelic acid and the internal standard, isovanilmandelic acid, were bound to the boronate matrix at an acidic pH, whereas for instance catecholamines were unretained and passed through the column. The α-hydroxycarboxylic acids were then desorbed by another mobile phase (pH 6.0) and transferred to an anion exchanger for chromatography and electrochemical detection. A relative standard deviation of 2.8% was obtained for the analysis of human urine samples containing 6.6 μM vanilmandelic acid.     

Purification of monoclonal antibodies by hydrophobic interaction chromatography under no-salt conditions

Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is commonly used as a polishing step in monoclonal antibody purification processes. HIC offers an orthogonal selectivity to ion exchange chromatography and can be an effective step for aggregate clearance and host cell protein reduction. HIC, however, suffers from the limitation of use of high concentrations of kosmotropic salts to achieve the desired separation. These salts often pose a disposal concern in manufacturing facilities and at times can cause precipitation of the product. Here, we report an unconventional way of operating HIC in the flowthrough (FT) mode with no kosmotropic salt in the mobile phase. A very hydrophobic resin is selected as the stationary phase and the pH of the mobile phase is modulated to achieve the required selectivity. Under the pH conditions tested (pH 6.0 and below), antibodies typically become positively charged, which has an effect on its polarity and overall surface hydrophobicity. Optimum pH conditions were chosen under which the antibody product of interest flowed through while impurities such as aggregates and host cell proteins bound to the column. This strategy was tested with a panel of antibodies with varying pI and surface hydrophobicity. Performance was comparable to that observed using conventional HIC conditions with high salt.     

Determination of the hydrophobicity of local anesthetic agents

Hydrophobicity, a term used to describe a fundamental physicochemical property of local anesthetics, was in the past obtained by octanol/buffer partitioning. It has been suggested that the octanol method, despite its obvious advantages, also has some drawbacks. HPLC has become an attractive alternative for the measurement of hydrophobicity and has been applied to local anesthetics recently. However, the methods in current use for measuring the hydrophobicity of local anesthetics suffer from a number of limitations and remain obscure. This study introduces a new HPLC method for measuring the hydrophobicity of eight local anesthetics in current clinical use. Using a C(18) derivatized polystyrene-divinylbenzene stationary phase HPLC column, the log k'(w) values of local anesthetics were determined by measuring the capacity factor k'(i) in the process of chromatographic separation using a hydrophobic stationary phase and a hydrophilic mobile phase. A rapid reversed-phase HPLC method was developed to directly measure log k'(w) of eight local anesthetics. A high correlation between log k'(w) and hydrophobicity (log P(oct)) from the traditional shake-flask method was obtained for the local anesthetics, demonstrating the reliability of the method. The results reveal an improved method for measuring the hydrophobicity of the local anesthetic agents in the unionized form. This simple, sensitive and reproducible approach may serve as a valuable tool for describing the physicochemical properties of novel local anesthetics.     

Effects of surface hydrophobicity on the catalytic iron ion retention in the active site of two catechol 1,2-dioxygenase isoenzymes

The different behaviour of two isozymes (IsoA and IsoB) of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (C1,2O) from Acinetobacter radioresistenss13 on a hydrophobic interaction, Phenyl-Sepharose chromatographic column, prompted us to investigate the role of superficial hydrophobicity on structural-functional aspects for such class of enzymes. The interaction of 8-anilino-1-naphtalenesulphonate (ANS), a fluorescent probe known to bind to hydrophobic sites in proteins, revealed that the two isoenzymes have a markedly different hydrophobicity degree although a similar number of hydrophobic superficial sites were estimated (2.65 for IsoA and 2.18 for IsoB). ANS is easily displaced by adding the substrates catechol or 3-methylcatechol to the adduct, suggesting that the binding sites are in the near surroundings of the catalytic clefts. The analysis of the hydropathy profiles and the possible superficial cavities allowed to recognize the most feasible region for ANS binding.The lower hydrophobicity detected in the near surroundings of the catalytic pocket of IsoB supports its peculiarity to lose the catalytic metal ions more easily than IsoA. As previously suggested for other metalloenzymes, the presence of more hydrophilic and/or smaller residues near to the active site of IsoB is expected to increase the metal ligands mobility thus increasing the metal ion dissociation rate constants, estimated to be 0.078 h^–1 and 0.670 h^–1 for IsoA and IsoB respectively. Abbreviations: C1,2O – catechol dioxygenase; ANS – 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulphonate; PHO – phenol hydroxylase oxygenase     

Clinical analysis for the anti-neoplastic agent 1,4-dihydroxy-5,8-bis{{2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethyl}amino} 9,10-anthracenedione dihydrochloride (NSC 301739) in plasma : Application of temperature control to provide selectivity in paired-ion high-performance liquid chromatography

An analytical method is described which permits monitoring of plasma levels of the anti-tumor tumor agent 1,4-dihydroxy-5,8-bis{{2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethyl}amino}9,10-anthracenedione dihydrochloride (DHAD) following its intravenous administration to cancer patients. The drug cannot be efficiently extracted from plasma into water-immiscible solvents, but is effectively separated from the biological matrix by retention on hydrophobic XAD-2 beads packed in a disposable glass cartridge. DHAD is subsequently selectively eluted from this column and then analyzed by reversed-phase partition chromatography with spectrophotometric detection of the analyte. Resolution of overlapping bands during high-performance liquid chromatographic separation was achieved by systematic optimization of mobile phase, ion-pairing agent and temperature. A possible explanation for the observed selectivity provided by temperature adjustment is offered. Plasma levels in the range of 75–3000 ng of DHAD per ml (7.5–300 ng applied to the column) can be analyzed with a precision of < ± 10%. Total recovery of drug from plasma is ca. 95%.     

反相高效液相色谱法测定血浆游离氨基酸

本文报告了采用高效液相色谱法反相梯度洗脱,邻苯二甲醛和β-巯基乙醇柱前衍生化,荧光检测分血浆游离氨基酸。实验采用线性洗脱,在50分钟内可同时测定18种氨基酸,血浆样品的预处理简单,衍生化反应的时间仅需1分30秒,血浆样品的实际进样量少于1μl。本测定方法的精确度高,各个氨基酸保留时间的变异系数平均为0.89%±0.45%(SD),峰面积的变异系数平均为2.06%±1.76%(SD),各个氨基酸的浓度在15—150μmol/L的范围中,线性关系的相关系数平均为0.985±0.0305(SD)。准确性好,各个氨基酸的回收率平均为97.6%±5.1%(SD)。实验还讨论了氨基酸分离时溶液pH值、柱温、离心速度等因素对分析结果的影响。     

The use of a new mobile phase,with no multivalent cation binding properties,to differentiate extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), from biomass used for wastewater treatment

The fingerprints of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extracted from different types of biomass used for wastewater treatment (i.e., activated sludge, filamentous activated sludge, anaerobic granular sludge, anaerobic flocculated sludge) were studied by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with Amersham Biosciences Superdex 200 10/300 GL column with a theoretical resolving range of 10–600 kDa. A new mobile phase, which does not display binding properties for multivalent cations, was previously optimized. This mobile phase contained 75 mM Hepes buffer at pH 7 with 15% acetonitrile (v/v) and was selected to minimize ionic and hydrophobic interactions between the molecules that make up the EPS and the column packing.When EPS extracted from similar sludges is analyzed using different mobile phases, the number of chromatographic peaks obtained is quite similar, and differences are mainly observed in the relative absorbance of the chromatographic peaks. However, very different chromatograms (number and relative absorbance of chromatographic peaks) are obtained for EPS extracted from different types of sludges. Furthermore, when dysfunctions, such as filamentous bulking in the activated sludge, occur in a bioreactor, they also induce strong variations in chromatographic profiles.     

Purification and pore-forming activity of two hydrophobic polypeptides from the secretion of the Red Sea Moses sole (Pardachirus marmoratus)

A new column chromatography procedure, based on ion exchange, chromatofocusing, and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography was employed to isolate the two main proteinaceous, toxic, cytolytic, pore-forming factors from the secretion of the Red Sea Moses sole Pardachirus marmoratus. Pardaxin I, comprising 10% of the gland secretion proteins, was shown to be 5-10 times more toxic, cytolytic, and active in membrane pore formation than pardaxin II (8% of gland secretion proteins). Gel electrophoresis, amino acid analysis, and NH2-terminal amino acid sequence reveals a high degree of homogeneity and resemblance between the two toxins. They are rich in aspartic acid, serine, glycine, and alanine and devoid of arginine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. Their NH2-terminal residue sequence was found to be NH2-Gly-Phe-Phe. Their hydrophobicity is evident from chromatographic behavior on a hydrophobic matrix, presence of 9 successive hydrophobic residues at the NH2 terminus, and a decrease in drop size during elution of active fractions during chromatographic purification. The minimal molecular weight of pardaxin I is about 3500 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis and amino acid analyses. It is composed of 35 amino acids and is free of carbohydrate and sialic acid residues. Mass spectrometry of the ethyl acetate extract of the gland secretion and purified toxin reveals the presence of sterols in the secretion but their absence in the purified toxins. Pardaxin I was iodinated without affecting its chemical and pore-forming properties. It binds to liposomes of different phospholipid compositions. In hyperpolarized unilamellar liposomes, pardaxin I produced a fast, nonspecific permeabilization and in multilamellar liposomes, a slow, cation-specific pore. It is suggested that pardaxins exert their effects due to their hydrophobic and pore-formation properties.     

Conformational effects in the reversed-phase liquid chromatography of ribonuclease A

This paper examines the reversed-phase liquid chromatographic behavior of ribonuclease A (RNase) using an n-butyl chemically bonded phase and a gradient of 10 mM H3PO4 and l-propanol. At a column temperature of 25 degrees C, a broad band followed by an overlapped late-eluting sharp peak is observed. As the temperature is raised, the sharp peak grows at the expense of the broad band until at 37 degrees C, only a single narrow-eluting band is found. Using an absorbance ratio of A288/A254, it is demonstrated that the broad band represents a folded or native state of RNase and the late-eluting band a denatured state. Based on postcolumn absorbance ratio changes in the denatured state as a function of time and the known behavior of the protein, reversible refolding or renaturation is proposed to take place in solution. RNase is denatured upon adsorbing to the bonded phase, and upon migration down the column, reversible refolding takes place in the mobile phase. The relaxation time for native state formation is assumed to be comparable to the time spent by RNase in the mobile phase. As temperature is raised, both the native and denatured states exist at equilibrium in solution, thus slowing the refolding process, until at 37 degrees C only the denatured peak appears. Changes in peak shape with flow rate provide further evidence for this model. The use of HCl or H2SO4 instead of H3PO4 yields similar results except that the temperature at which only the denatured peak is observed follows the order of salt stabilization of the native state.     

Differentiation of lipid-associating helices by use of three-dimensional molecular hydrophobicity potential calculations.

Several types of lipid-associating helices exist: transmembrane helices such as in receptor proteins, pore-forming helices in ion channel proteins, fusion-inducing peptides in viral proteins, and amphipathic helices such as in plasma apolipoproteins. In order to propose a classification of these helices according to their molecular properties, we introduce the concept of molecular hydrophobicity potential for such helical segments. The calculation of this parameter for alpha-helices enables the visualization of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic envelopes around the peptide and their three-dimensional representation by molecular graphics. We have used this parameter to differentiate between pore-forming helices with a hydrophobic envelope larger than the hydrophilic component, membrane-spanning helices surrounded almost entirely by an hydrophobic envelope, fusiogenic peptides with an hydrophobicity gradient both around the helix and along the axis, and finally, amphipathic helices with a predominantly hydrophilic envelope. The structure of the lipid-protein complexes is determined by a number of different interactions: the hydrophobic interaction of the apolar faces of the helices with lipids, the polar interaction of the hydrophilic sides of different helices with each other, and the interaction of hydrophilic residues with the aqueous solvent. The relative magnitude of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic envelopes accounts for the differences in the structure of the lipid-protein complexes. Purely hydrophobic interactions stabilize transmembrane helical segments, while hydrophobic interactions with the lipid phase and with each other are involved in the stabilization of the pore-forming helices. In contrast, both hydrophobic interactions with the lipids and hydrophilic interactions with the aqueous phase contribute to the arrangement of amphipathic helices around the edges of the discoidal lipid-apoprotein complexes.     

Separation of hexokinase activity using different hydrophobic interaction supports

Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) has been used extensively for the separation of proteins and peptides by elution using a descending salt gradient, with and without the use of detergents or denaturing agents. In this paper we compare different hydrophobic interaction chromatographic media for the separation of multiple forms of hexokinase from rabbit reticulocytes. Among the different hydrophobic chromatographic media tested (Toyopearl Phenyl 650S, Ether 650S and Butyl 650S) Toyopearl Phenyl 650S offered the best separation of multiple forms of hexokinase, probably due to its intermediate hydrophobicity. In order to establish the optimal experimental conditions, we evaluated the effects of different salts, and the results obtained demonstrated that among the antichaotropic salts, ammonium sulphate is the most suitable for the separation of hexokinase sub-types. The sample loading capacity of the three Toyopearl supports was investigated and the recovery of enzymatic activity obtained ranged from 60% to 90%, depending on the different salts and hydrophobic media used. The chromatographic profiles of hexokinase activity from various mammalian and fungal tissues also demonstrate that Toyopearl Phenyl 650S can be successfully employed for the separation of multiple forms of enzymes from different biological sources.     

Development of a chiral stationary phase based on cinchonidine. Comparison with a quinine-based chiral column

A chiral anion-exchanger stationary phase based on cinchonidine (CD) was developed. Two columns were packed with and without endcapping (EC) treatment (CD-chiral stationary phase[CD-CSP(EC)] and [CD-CSP], respectively) and studied for their ability to separate N-2,4-dinitrophenyl α-amino acids (DNP-amino acids) enantiomers over a temperature range of 10-40 °C with a hydro-organic buffer mobile phase. The more hydrophobic, endcapped stationary phase showed significantly larger retentive capacity than the non-endcapped one. The apparent thermodynamic transfer parameters of the enantiomers from the mobile to both CSPs were estimated from van't Hoff plots within the cited temperature range. Similar studies with two natural quinine-based columns (QN-CSP and QN-CSP(EC)) were previously reported. In this work, a critical comparison in the chiral recognition ability to DNP-amino acids of these cinchonidine and QN-based chiral columns was drawn. It has been found that QN-based CSPs show greater chiral recognition capability towards these derivatives than CD-CSPs. The influence of the QN methoxy group on the equilibrium constants of the enantioselective interaction between these DNP-amino acids with these two cinchona CSPs could be assessed.     

The investigation of peptide-oligodeoxythymidylic acid interactions using template chromatography.

Poly(vinyl alcohol) has been substituted with oligodeoxythymidylic acid and the resulting polyanion irreversibly attached to DEAE-cellulose via ionic bonding. Peptide-oligonucleotide interactions have been studied using a column chromatography technique with the PV(pT)n-DEAE-cellulose as stationary phase. Of all the naturally occurring amino acids, only tryptophan and to a lesser extent tyrosine intreact significantly with the immobilized oligodeoxythymidylic acid residues under the conditions for base pairing. The homopolymers of tryptophan and tyrosine undergo greater retardation than the monomers, such that the effect is not additive but multiplicative. Thus Tyr-Tyr-Tyr shows an eightfold and Trp-Trp-Trp an approximately 30-fold larger retardation than tyrosine and tryptophan, respectively. The peptide-oligonucleotide interaction decreases considerably when nonaromatic amino acids are present in the peptide. Consequently, naturally occurring peptides and proteins which contain relatively small amounts of tryptophan and tyrosine compared with the nonaromatic amino acids undergo at the most only slight retardation on the PV(pT)n-DEAE-cellulose. The retention of oligonucleotides and peptides containing these aromatic amino acids is due in both cases mainly to base stacking (roughly 67% of the total interaction) but involves different mechanisms. Thus, the peptides interact preferably with the cellulose matrix whereas the oligonucleotides with the immobilized oligonucleotides. Interaction via hydrogen-bond formation makes up the remaining 33% of the total interaction. The oligonucleotides and peptides of the mobile phase interact with each other also via this mechanism. The strength of the d(pA-A-A) interaction is roughly that of Trp-Trp whereas d(pA-A-A-A) is weaker than Trp-Trp-Trp.