Longitudinal diffusion in size-exclusion chromatography: a stop-flow size-exclusion chromatography study.

Band broadening in size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) has an adverse effect upon calculated molecular mass averages, distributions, and dilute solution data generated using single- and multi-detector systems. In the past, the longitudinal diffusion contribution to band broadening in SEC has been considered negligible. This assumption has been investigated by using a stop-flow methodology (SF-SEC) that maximizes the potential for longitudinal diffusion while minimizing that for mass transfer. Under the given experimental conditions, the effects of B-term band broadening were manifest only below 30 KDa, irrespective of chemical functionality or molecular mass polydispersity. This type of broadening was found to be flow rate-independent for a representative high molecular mass polymer.     

High-speed and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography of proteins on a new hydrophilic polystyrene-based resin

High-performance size-exclusion chromatography of some standard proteins, peptides and amino acids on a new hydrophilic packing material obtained by chemical transformation of a cross-linked polystyrene-divinylbenzene copolymer was studied. Columns filled with 4 and 7 micron particles were compared. The influence of the concentration of acetonitrile, isopropanol and trifluoroacetic acid in the mobile phase on the chromatographic performance was investigated. A good linear calibration graph covering the molecular weight range from 200 to 700,000, was obtained under the optimal conditions. The packing material can be used for separations, for molecular weight determinations and for the pre-fractionation of proteins. The high rigidity of the packing material allows relatively high pressures to be used and therefore fast separations to be achieved. The packing material was applied to the chromatography of proteins from beer, bones and milk.     

Glycosaminoglycans and proteins: different behaviours in high-performance size-exclusion chromatography

The influence of the conformation of globular proteins and glycosaminoglycans in high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) was studied. Glycosaminoglycans (heparin, chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate) with different primary structures, sulphate-to-carboxyl ratios and physico-chemical properties were extracted and purified. Their physico-chemical properties and purity were evaluated by several analytical techniques. Glycosaminoglycans with different relative molecular masses (M_r) were prepared by a chemical depolymerization process. These heteropolysaccharides were evaluated by HPSEC and compared with globular proteins of known relative molecular mass. The two third-degree polynomial regression curves for proteins and glycosaminoglycans have different coefficients and the columns present different exclusion limits. In particular, under the experimental conditions, the M_r exclusion limits for high M_r are 44 000 for glycosaminoglycans and 240 000 for globular proteins. In contrast, the behaviours of these two classes of macromolecules are similar for lower M_r. In fact, the two third-degree polynomial curves show the same regression below about M_r = 1000. The behaviour in HPSEC is discussed in relation to the different steric conformations for proteins and glycosaminoglycans with different relative molecular masses.     

Cascade-mode multiaffinity chromatography. Fractionation of human serum proteins.

The group-resolving power of cascade-mode multiaffinity column chromatography (CASMAC), was demonstrated with human serum as a model mixture. More than 99% of the serum proteins were adsorbed in the same high salt-containing buffer on a tandem column consisting of (1) immobilized Zn2+ on triscarboxymethyl diamine gel followed by (2) thiophilic (T) gel, (3) Zn2+ bound to the new tridentate chelating adsorbent dipicolylamine (DPA) agarose, (4) hexyl-thioether C6-S agarose and (5) Ni(2+)-DPA agarose. After the adsorption step the immobilized metal ion affinity gels were attached to the top of tandem columns of other adsorbents (T gel, Sephadex G-25 for desalting and Mono-Q) and the elution conditions were selected such that further group separation was achieved. High resolution, high recovery, easy manipulation and high capacity are characteristic features of the cascade process with these adsorbents. The advantage of CASMAC is particularly striking when, with a given number of adsorbents, the overall number of operations involving adsorption, desorption, washing, buffer change and substance concentration can be effectively minimized.     

Cystine-rich proteins of human hair: characterization and structure as revealed by reversed-phase and size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography

The human hair cystine-rich proteins have been separated through the combined use of reversed-phase and size-exclusion chromatography into more than fifty components. These have been grouped, based on molecular weight, into six families of closely related members. The families range in molecular weight from less than 6500 for the low-molecular-weight components to more than 67 000 for the high-molecular-weight components, with average intermediate values for the other families of 8000, 11 500, 15 500 and 19 000. The results also suggest an organized structure of the hair matrix proteins. The combined use of reversed-phase and size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography in these studies presents an example where the quaternary structure of a multi-component protein can be largely deduced from its chromatographic behaviour.     

Observations on the rapid size-exclusion chromatography of proteins

Summary The retention behaviour of reference proteins on commercial siliceous size-exclusion supports was studied. Sorption was observed on both surface modified and unmodified supports. When sodium dodecylsulfate was added to the aqueous mobile phase, normal elution patterns were found. With this system, proteins, such as those isolate from different alfalfa genotypes, may be compared rapidly. Comparisons were facillitated by use of on-line central data processing capability.     

Fractionation of apple procyanidins by size-exclusion chromatography.

Oligomeric constituents of apple procyanidins were fractionated by size-exclusion chromatography using a TSKgel Toyopearl HW-40F column. The best separation was obtained using a mobile phase of acetone-8 M urea (6:4; adjusted to pH 2) at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. In this chromatographic system, the use of 8 M urea in the mobile phase resulted in a molecular sieve effect without any surface affinity interaction between the gel beads and the procyanidin molecules. Each fraction obtained was examined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The order of elution of the procyanidins from the column was coincident with their degree of polymerization.     

Effect of steric exclusion on the separation of proteins by hydrophilic size-exclusion chromatography

On the basis of studying the retention and band broadening of proteins on the TSK SW column, diffusion coefficients (Ds) of solute in stationary phase were obtained which elucidate the hydrodynamic process of chromatographic resolution of proteins by hydrophilic size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). After calculating the correlation between Ds and the molecular weight of the solute, the molecular dimensions of proteins in the process of chromatographic separation can be predicted. Deviations in diffusion coefficient of a protein from the calculated value reflect differences of measured molecular dimensions from molecular volumes predicted from the calibration curve of the SEC column. This study illustrates a convenient method for estimating the purity of proteins by SEC. Deviations from 2 lambda dp (where dp is the particle diameter) in the intercept of the theoretical plate height (H) versus flow-rate (U) curve from the band broadening equation H = CsU + 2 lambda dp + f(alpha M)T (where CsU represents mass transfer resistance caused by solute diffusion in the stationary phase and f(alpha M)T an added term for polydisperse solutes as proposed by Knox and McLennan [Chromatographia, 10 (1977) 75]) reflect impurities in the proteins.     

Polymer characterization by size-exclusion chromatography with multiple detection.

Size-exclusion chromatography with coupled multiangle light scattering and differential refractometry detectors has been used to obtain molecular mass and radius of gyration distributions of polydisperse polymer samples. From these data the scaling law between dimensions and the absolute molecular mass is obtained with just one sample of each polymer. Three different kinds of polymers are presented: polystyrene which serves as reference polymer, polyphosphazenes which behave abnormally in solution and poly(ethylene oxide) which is soluble in water. Since the relationship between dimensions and molecular mass depends on the extent of interactions between chain segments and solvent molecules, the scaling law provides information about the solution properties of the polymer.     

Two-dimensional electrophoresis of cat sera: protein identification by cross reacting antibodies against human serum proteins.

After two-dimensional electrophoresis of cat serum, individual proteins were identified by means of cross reacting antibodies against the human protein homologues. Testing by cross reactivities seemed the method of choice because immunoreagents for cat proteins are not easily available.     

Separation of proteins by microcolumn liquid chromatography based on the reversed-phase and size-exclusion principles

Slurry-packed fused-silica microcolumns of 250 micron I.D., are characterized for use in high-performance liquid chromatographic studies of proteins. The present work utilizes the reversed-phase and size-exclusion chromatographic modes for the separation of standard protein mixtures. A 5-micron, 300-A octyl material is utilized for the reversed-phase studies, and the size-exclusion studies are accomplished with 5-micron diol material of 60-, 100- and 300-A pore sizes. Column efficiency and packing reproducibility, as well as sample capacity in a micropreparative mode, are discussed. In addition, the inherent mass sensitivity of a microcolumn liquid chromatography system as applied to protein detection is demonstrated.     

Enrichment of human brain proteins by heparin chromatography.

Detection of low-abundance proteins is essential for the identification of novel drug targets by differential protein expression studies. We studied the enrichment of human fetal brain proteins by heparin chromatography. Total soluble brain proteins were fractionated on Heparin-Actigel and the fractions collected were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. Approximately 300 protein spots were analyzed, representing 70 different polypeptides, 50 of which were bound to the heparin matrix. Eighteen brain proteins were identified for the first time. The proteins enriched by heparin chromatography include both minor and major components of the brain protein extract. The enriched proteins belong to several classes, including proteasome components, dihydropirimidinase-related proteins, T-complex protein 1 components and enzymes with various catalytic activities. The results include a two-dimensional map of the soluble brain proteins and a list of the proteins enriched by heparin chromatography. These may be useful in the design of protein purification protocols and in studies of neurological disorders.     

Critical study of the speciation of aluminum in biological fluids by size-exclusion chromatography and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Pooled serum and the serum of a healthy volunteer were spiked with aluminum and aluminum species were separated on Bio-gel columns. With the P10 column, less than 40% of the aluminum was eluted with the high-molecular-weight (m.w.>20 00) fraction; the total aluminum concentration was 600 μg l^?1. Tw lower m.w. fractions were also recovered. With the P4 column, only one high m.w. (65–100%) and one low m.w. (0–53%) fraction were recovered; the total Al concentrations was 10–110 μg l^?1. When a hemofiltrate obtained from uremic patients on regular hemofiltration and spiked with 60–110 μg Al l^?1 was applied to the P4 gel, two lower m.w. fractions were detected. The adsorption/desorption of “free” aluminum on the column was studied with 0.9% NaCl solution, Earle's medium and filtrate. Normal column fractionation and frontal analysis (adsorption and desorption breakthrough curves) were used. Redistribution of aluminum seemed not to occur within the serum when in contact with the column, but contamination from extraneous aluminum could greatly alter the aluminum distribution. Different sources of errors were identified.8     

High-performance affinity chromatography of human serum concanavalin A binding proteins

A high-performance concanavalin A (Con A) affinity column Gelpack GL-L55C (Hitachi Kasei Industries) was successfully used for the fractionation of human serum Con A-binding proteins. Serum proteins that have strong affinity to Con A (ca. 11% of the recovered proteins) could be fractionated within 80 min. By analysing the eluates from the column by micro two-dimensional electrophoresis, followed by blotting and Con A staining, the specificity of the column was effectively visualized. Although the protein-binding capacity of the column gradually decreased during repeated loading of serum or tissue extracts, the specificity of the column to Con A-binding proteins did not change. Serum lipoproteins have been eluted from the column with 6 M urea, suggesting that the capacity decrease is caused by the binding of lipids or lipoproteins to the column.     

Transfer-volume effects in two-dimensional chromatography: adsorption-phenomena in second-dimension size-exclusion chromatography

Gradient-elution LC × LC is a valuable technique for the characterization of complex biological samples as well as for synthetic polymers. Breakthrough and viscous fingering may yield misleading information on the sample characteristics or deteriorate separation. In LC × SEC another phenomenon may jeopardize the separation. If the analytes adsorb on the SEC column under the injection-plug conditions, peak splitting may occur. In LC × LC the effluent from the first column is the sample solvent for the analytes injected into the second dimension. If a gradient-elution LC × SEC setup is used (i.e. if reversed-phase gradient-elution LC is coupled to organic SEC and if normal-phase gradient-elution LC is coupled to SEC with a polar solvent), the percentage of weak solvent may be significant, especially at short analysis times. In this case adsorption in the first-dimension-effluent zone on the second-dimension SEC column can become an issue and two peaks--the first eluting in size-exclusion mode and the second undergoing adsorption--can be obtained. The work presented in this paper documents peak splitting in LC × SEC of polymers. The adsorption of the polymer on the size-exclusion column was proven in one-dimensional isocratic runs. The observed effects were modeled and visualized through simulation. Studies on the influence of the transfer volume were carried out. Keeping the transfer volume as small as possible helped to minimize peak splitting due to adsorption.     

Evaluation of the porous structures of new polymer packing materials by inverse size-exclusion chromatography

A highly cross-linked porous polymer resin based on styrene-divinylbenzene matrix with pores created by the use of micellar imprinting technique was used as chromatographic packing material. Its performance as a column packing material in inverse size-exclusion chromatography was compared with a non-imprinted resin of the same polymer matrix. The porous structures (the pore size and the porosity) of the resins in the dry and wet states and their relationships with the elution volume of probe solutes (alkanes and polystyrene standards) were established. Characteristic properties of the resins such as specific pore volume, specific surface area and porosity are compared with results obtained by other methods of characterization such as mercury intrusion porosimetry, solvent regain and nitrogen sorption. The results show that the new porous resin can be used in the separation of small molecules. The separation is based on the size of the molecules, and the larger pores (meso- and macropores) in the porous resin can provide a much easier access to the smaller pores (micropores) which are useful in the chromatographic separations.     

Salting-out chromatography of serum proteins

The usefulness of salting-out chromatography is demonstrated by the separation of blood serum proteins on Sephadex. Conventional and highly purous ion exchangers generally can not be used because of irreversible Sorption of protuin.