Two-dimensional turbulent flow chromatography coupled on-line to liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry for solution-based ligand screening against multiple proteins

We present herein a novel bioseparation/chemical analysis strategy for protein–ligand screening and affinity ranking in compound mixtures, designed to increase screening rates and improve sensitivity and ruggedness in performance. The strategy is carried out by combining on-line two-dimensional turbulent flow chromatography (2D-TFC) with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), and accomplished through the following steps: (1) a reversed-phase TFC stage to separate the protein/ligand complex from the unbound free molecules, (2) an on-line dissociation process to release the bound ligands from the complexes, and (3) a second mixed-mode cation-exchange/reversed-phase TFC stage to trap the bound ligands and to remove the proteins and salts, followed by LC–MS analysis for identification and determination of the binding affinities. The technique can implement an ultra-fast isolation of protein/ligand complex with the retention time of a complex peak in about 5 s, and on-line prepare the “clean” sample to be directly compatible with the LC–MS analysis. The improvement in performance of this 2D-TFC/LC–MS approach over the conventional approach has been demonstrated by determining affinity-selected ligands of the target proteins acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase from a small library with known binding affinities and a steroidal alkaloid library composed of structurally similar compounds. Our results show that 2D-TFC/LC–MS is a generic and efficient tool for high-throughput screening of ligands with low-to-high binding affinities, and structure-activity relationship evaluation.     

离子液体在生物工程方面的进展

离子液体具有不挥发性、非易燃性、离子电导率高、物化性能稳定、电化学窗口宽、结构多样性与可设计性等诸多优良特性,近年来已在电化学、生物、绿色化学等领域发挥着至关重要的作用。本文综述了离子液体在生物方面的一些应用：作为理想的载体将目标基因或者药物运送到靶细胞中达到治疗的目的;探究离子液体的毒性对生物体的影响从而达到杀灭癌细胞等特殊细胞或绿色降解的目的;利用其电催化活性好、灵敏度高等特性制成生物传感器用于电化学检测;将离子液体作为核酸分离的载体,使得核酸的分离的过程简化、效率提高。     

Embedding magnetic nanoparticles into polysaccharide-based hydrogels for magnetically assisted bioseparation.

Based on the preparation of biocompatible polysaccharide-based hydrogels with stimuli-responsive properties by the copolymerization of maleilated carboxymethyl chitosan with N-isopropylacrylamide, novel magnetic hybrid hydrogels were fabricated by the in situ embedding of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles into the porous hydrogel networks. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses showed that the size, morphology, and content of the iron oxide nanoparticles formed could be modulated by controlling the amount of maleilated carboxymethyl chitosan. As confirmed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), equilibrium swelling ratio, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements, the embedding process did not induce a phase change of the magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, and the resultant hybrid hydrogels could retain the pH- and temperature-responsive characteristics of their hydrogel precursors. By investigating the partition coefficients of bovine serum albumin as a model protein, this magnetic hydrogel material was found to hold a potential application in magnetically assisted bioseparation.     

Batch foam recovery of sporamin from sweet potato

The major sweet potato root protein, sporamin (which comprises about 80–90% of the total protein mass in the sweet potato) easily foams in a bubble/foam-fractionation column using air as the carrier gas. Control of that foam fractionation process is readily achieved by adjusting two variables: bulk solution pH and gas superficial velocity. Varying these parameters has an important role in the recovery of sporamin in the foam. Changes in the pH of the bulk solution can control the partitioning of sporamin in the foam phase from that in the bulk phase. A change in pH will also affect the amount of foam generated. The pH varied between 2.0 and 10.0 and the air superficial velocities (V₀) ranged between 1.5 and 4.3 cm/s. It was observed in these ranges that, as the pH increased, the total foamate volume decreased, but the foamate protein (mainly sporamin) concentration increased. On the other hand, the total foamate volume increased significantly as the air superficial velocity increased, but the foamate concentration decreased slightly. The minimum residual protein concentration occurred at pH 3.0 and V_o = 1.5 cm/s. On the other hand, the maximum protein mass recovery occurred at pH 3.0 and at V_o = 4.3 cm/s.     

RIGID GIGAPOROUS CHROMATOGRAPHIC MEDIA AND THEIR POTENTIAL IMPACT ON DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING

More and more biomolecules are being produced by the biotechnology industry for applications ranging from medicine and food to engineering materials. Liquid chromatography plays a center-stage role in a typical downstream process producing biomolecules such as recombinant proteins. Rigid gigaporous media are porous particles possessing large transecting through-pores with a pore-to-particle diameter ratio of dpore/dparticle〉 0.01. They allow convective flow in the large through-pores, while the smaller diffusion-pores （typically several hundred angstroms in size） supply the needed surface areas. Because of the transecting gigapores, a portion of the mobile phase flows through the pores in addition to fluid flow in the interstitial spaces between the particles in a packed-bed column. This considerably lowers the operating column pressure drop. This lower pressure drop makes axial-direction scale-up of chromatographic columns possible to avoid pancake columns that invariably degrade separation resolution. The large gigapores also make the binding sites on the diffusion pore surfaces more accessible, thus increasing the loading capacity of large protein molecules that can be hindered sterically if only diffusion pores are present. This work discusses the development of rigid gigaporous media and their potential impact on the design of multi-stage downstream process from the angle of multi-scale analysis.     

Phase Separations in Water–Salt Solutions of Polyelectrolyte Complexes Formed by RNA and Polycations: Comparison with DNA Complexes

Formation of insoluble polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) between RNA and polycations was followed by measuring the residual RNA absorbance in the solution after separation of the precipitate. The polycations studied were poly(N,N′‐dimethyldiallylammonium) chloride (pendant type) and 2,5‐ionene bromide (integral type) with quaternary amino groups in every monomer unit. The data obtained were compared with the results of analogous studies of DNA‐containing PECs. This study is a part of a project aimed at the specific separation of plasmid DNA from RNA, a major problem in the preparative isolation of plasmid DNA. We thus deliberately chose a heterogenous RNA sample as it represents the RNA present in a real cell extract. In contrast to the exhaustive precipitation of DNA observed at certain φ values, a significant part of RNA was nonprecipitated at any φ = [+]/[?], that is, at any ratio of positively charged quaternary amino groups and negatively charged phosphate groups. The addition of sodium chloride increased the nonprecipitated fraction of RNA. DNA, on the other hand, was completely precipitated by both polycations at φ > 0.7. The less effective precipitation of RNA was probably due to the presence of a considerable fraction of short‐chained molecules, incapable of forming a sufficient cooperative system of salt bonds with the polycation. This assumption was supported by a separate experiment, in which the precipitation behavior of RNA fractions of different molecular masses was investigated. The same tendency, while less pronounced, was also ascertained for PECs formed by polycations with DNA fractions of different molecular masses. The possibility of using the revealed differences between DNA and RNA behavior for effective precipitation procedure useful in bioseparation is discussed. The difference in the precipitation behavior of nucleic acids of different molecular masses means there is a possibility for developing an enzymatic assay for DNAase and RNAase activity.

The relative residual absorbance of RNA (closed symbols) and DNA (open symbols) remaining in solution after precipitation with 2,5‐ionene bromide as a function of the charge ratio, [+]/[?], determined at different concentrations of sodium chloride (M ).     

A novel immunoassay system and bioseparation process based on thermal phase separating polymers

Poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (polyNIPAAm), a water-soluble, thermally precipitating synthetic polymer, has been conjugated together with a monoclonal antibody (MAb) and utilized in a novel separation method for an immunoassay. The PolyMPAAm precipitates out of water above a critical temperature of 31°C, enabling a polymerbound immune complex to be separated from the solution. The principal advantages of this method are that it utilizes a homogeneous incubation for the antigen-antibody reaction, plus, it has the ability to assay large-molecular-weight antigens with sensitivities equivalent to other nonisotopic heterogeneous immunoassays. In addition, since the polymer-immune complex may be reversibly redissolved by cooling, the method may be used both to concentrate the signal and isolate the analyte. This general technique may also be used for a wide variety of separation processes in addition to immunoassays, in which a specific component in a biological fluid, industrial process stream, or body of water is to be isolated for analysis, recovery, or disposal. Thus, product recovery and/or toxin or pollutant removal processes are possible with this methodology.     

磁性微球的制备及研究进展

磁性微球作为一种新型功能材料,在磁性材料、生物工程等领域有着广泛的应用前景。文章对磁性高分子微球的制备方法、性质作了较详细的综述,着重介绍了磁性微球在细胞分离、蛋白质的提纯、固定化酶、靶向给药及核酸的分离等领域的应用。