Batchwise Purification of Liver Ribosomes and Polysomes from Unfasted Mice on Hydroxylapatite

Batchwise purification of liver ribosomes and polysomes on hydroxyl-apatite is a rapid procedure to remove glycogen, hemoglobin, ribonuclease and other contaminants from ribosomal preparations. Ribosomes and polysomes are adsorbed to hydroxylapatite in a Büchner filter funnel and the contaminants are eluted from the hydroxylapatite with 0.15 M KH₂PO₄. The ribosomes and polysomes are then eluted with 0.3–0.4 M KH₂PO₄ and concentrated by centrifugation. The resolution of the polysome profiles was greatly improved following purification. The purified ribosomes could be dissociated into subunits at 0.3 M KCl, and showed no loss of activity in poly-U directed phenylalanine synthesis.