Studies on the refolding of the reduced-denatured insulin with size exclusion chromatography

The refolding of the reduced-denatured insulin from bovine pancreas was investigated with the size exclusion chromatography (SEC). It was shown that the reduced-denatured insulin originally denatured with 7.0 mol·L-1 guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCI) or 8.0 mol·L-1 urea could not be refolded with a non-oxidized mobile phase. Although the oxidized and reduced glutathione (GSSG and GSH) were employed in the oxidized mobile phase, the reduced-denatured insulin still could not be renatured. However, in the presence of 2.0 mol·L-1 urea in the oxidized mobile phase employed, the reduced-denatured insulin can be refolded with SEC, and the aggregation of denatured insulin can be diminished by urea. In addition, the disul-fide exchange of reduced-denatured insulin also can be accelerated with GSSG/GSH in the oxidized mobile phase. The three disulfide bridges of insulin were formed correctly and the reduced-unfolded insulin can be renatured completely. The results were further tested with re-versed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) and hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC).     

Electrically driven capillary size exclusion chromatography

Summary Electrically driven size exclusion chromatography (ED-SEC) of polystyrenes in packed capillaries using dimethylformamide as solvent is demonstrated. The efficiency and retention behaviour of polystyrenes under pressure and electro drive were investigated. Under pressure drive the plate height (H) increases steadily with increasing linear velocity (u) whereas under electro drive the H-u curves largely coincide and are very flat. At higher velocities the plate heights are about 50% smaller with electro drive than with pressure drive. Calculations show that with increasing ionic strength, the flow through the particles may increase causing a clear diminishing of the elution window.     

Phenomena of insulin peak fronting in size exclusion chromatography and strategies to reduce fronting

Insulin peak fronting in size exclusion chromatography (SEC) results in more than 10% yield loss in the production of insulin. The goal of this study is to understand the mechanisms of peak fronting and to develop strategies to reduce fronting and increase insulin yield. Chromatography experiments ruled out pressure surge, viscous fingering, and adsorption as the cause for peak fronting. Theoretical analysis based on a general rate model indicated that reversible dimerization is the major cause for peak fronting and reducing the dimerization equilibrium constant is the most effective method for reducing fronting. Two strategies were developed and tested to reduce the degree of dimer formation. The first strategy was to use 0.1N acetic acid as the presaturant and eluent. The second strategy was to use 0.8 or 2.8N acetic acid in 20vol.% denatured ethanol as the mobile phase. The experimental results showed that both strategies can reduce insulin peak fronting in SEC, maintain desired product purity, and increase insulin yield to higher than 98%.     

High-performance size exclusion chromatography of biological products

Summary High-performance size exclusion chromatography has been applied to the analysis and separation of a range of biological products — substances and preparations used in human medicine that cannot be completely defined by chemical and physical means. A variety of proteins and polysaccharides have been examined and results are described for a number of blood products, and polysaccharides of bacterial origin. This method is superior to conventional size esclusion for characterization of such substances and permits their isolation for further examination, without work-up, by biological and immunological techniques. The selection of appropriate column supports is considered. The limitations are considered of this procedure for studying the interaction between antithrombin III and heparin as the basis of a non-biological assay method.Presented at the 14th International Symposium on Chromatography London, September, 1982     

On‐column refolding of corticotropin‐releasing factor receptor 1 extracellular domain by size exclusion chromatography

Expressing the extracellular domain of corticotropin releasing factor receptor 1 in Escherichia coli usually results in the formation of inclusion bodies. Here we describe the optimization of refolding by applying size exclusion chromatography with a denaturing guanidine hydrochloride gradient and a refolding buffer containing glycerol. Several chromatographic parameters like gradient length, flow rate, sample concentration and chromatography resin characteristics were evaluated. Recovery yields of refolded protein above 50% using a Superdex 200 column demonstrate the usefulness of this method. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel polystyryl resins for size exclusion chromatography

New size exclusion chromatography (SEC) resins based on a crosslinker having independent vinyl groups have been produced and compared with SEC resins based on divinylbenzene-55 (DVB). 1,2-Bis(p-vinylphenyl)ethane (p,p-BVPE) and its meta-isomers were suspension-copolymerized with p-methylstyrene in the presence of different porogens to give particles of about 5 μm average diameter. The porous particles were slurry-packed into stainless steel columns for SEC evaluation. Calibration curves were obtained using narrow disperse polystyrene standards with molecular weights ranging from 580 to 3,040,000. The calibration curves for the new BVPE resins covered wider useful molecular weight ranges than those for comparable divinylbenzene resins. Particle size, surface morphology and the properties of pores were studied using a Coulter Multisizer II, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption, and mercury porosimetry. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dichloropentafluoropropanes as solvents for size exclusion chromatography

We have found that HCFC225s (HCFC225ca: 3,3-dichloro-1,1,1,2,2-pentafluoropropane, HCFC225cb: 1,3-dichloro-1,1,2,2,3-pentafluoropropane) are superior mobile phases for size exclusion chromatography (SEC). As alternatives of CFC113, they have been shown to possess a number of excellent properties, such as low flammability, low viscosity, low cost, high purity, and environmental and operational friendliness. In addition, they have distinct advantages for the SEC measurement, because they solubilize some kinds of acrylate such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and commercial monodispersed PMMA can be used to prepare calibration curves necessary for the measurement of equivalent molecular weight of some polymers. Furthermore, we propose an HCFC225/1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol mixed solvent for use in the SEC of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polyamides. Poly(2-(perfluorooctyl)ethyl acrylate), whose PMMA equivalent weight average molecular weight was 118,100 Da, was evaluated by a multi-angle laser light scattering (MALLS) detector to have an absolute molecular weight of 439,000 Da. The difference can be attributed to the molecular size of the polyfluorinated polymer compared to the non-fluorinated one. The possible application of this novel mobile phase system for molecular size and molecular weight characterization of perfluoropolyethers, PET, nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 are also discussed.     

Inverse size exclusion chromatography and universal calibration

The mechanism of size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is reciprocal in respect to the properties of the porous material and of the solutes immersed. The porosimetric interpretation (inverse SEC) yields information about the morphology of porous solids. It depends on a number of assumptions and in particular on the steric properties of the probing macromolecules whose ‘Universal Calibration’ remains disputed to this day. The central question concerns the equilibrium distribution of molecules in confined spaces of complex geometry, and is, as such, not limited to the particulars of chromatographic technique. This survey hopes to help focus future research activities in this field of analytical chemistry and material science.     

Plate-model applied on concentration effects in size exclusion chromatography

Abstract

A universal procedure of modeling chromatography separation, based on the plate model, has been developed. On each plate, the equilibrium between the analyte in the mobile and stationary phases is established. This equilibrium may be described by the concentration-dependent partition coefficient. The establishment of the equilibrium on each plate is followed by the displacement of the analyte in the mobile phase by one plate, establishment of new equilibrium, etc. The result is a series of elution curves with positions of maxima dependent on injected mass of the polymer. The procedure has been tested on modeling concentration effects on the basis of dependences of the partition coefficient on local concentrations on each plate. By comparison with the experiment, the slope of the concentration dependence of the partition coefficient of polystyrene in benzene was estimated. It is in qualitative agreement with the literature data obtained by a computer simulation of chromatography separation of polymers in good solvents.     

Interlaced size exclusion liquid chromatography of monoclonal antibodies

Size exclusion chromatography is a widely performed analysis of monoclonal antibodies, primarily used to monitor the levels of higher weight molecular species such as aggregates. Owing to the subtleties of these separation mechanisms and frequently observed partial resolutions of components in these separations, many common methods for increasing the method throughput are not practical as they trade off resolution for speed. Short columns, high flow rates and smaller particles are examples of these approaches. In this paper a practical method is demonstrated for injecting samples onto the column in rapid succession and gating the detection window to monitor the elution of each sample individually. At any given instant approximately two samples are eluting through the column. By co-ordinating the injection and detection time windows the samples can be kept discrete and significant throughput enhancements achieved, up to nearly 2-fold improvements are demonstrated. A rudimentary theory is development to show that the throughput improvements can be predicted to approximation by simple column characteristics. Experimental results for a series of monoclonal antibodies demonstrate the equivalency of the method to a conventional injection approach, the throughput increase, and the robustness of the method.     

High performance size exclusion chromatography of polyamic acid

Molecular weight studies of polyamic acids are complicated by polyelectrolyte effects. Although early work on the molecular weight determination of polyamic acids employed salts to suppress this polyelectrolyte effect, recent publications reveal that such salts can cause precipitation of polyamic acids from solution, however, a mobile phase consisting of 0.03M LiBr/0.03M H₃PO₄/1% vol THF in dimethyl formamide was reported to successfully suppress the noted polyelectrolyte effect without causing the precipitation of polyamic acid and give satisfactory size exclusion chromatograms using columns packed with “macro-porous” glasses. However, the development time was long (ca. 4 h) and considering the lability of the polyamic acids, the results must be viewed with skepticism. We find that use of a similar “mixed” mobile phase with Zorbax® PSM-Bimodal columns using size exclusion chromatography in the high performance mode (HPSEC) provides well resolved and reproducible chromatograms and molecular weight data with development times of < 15 min. Aside from the avoidance of long development times, which can lead to questionable results, this procedure permits the facile routine analysis of polyamic acid on a daily basis. The procedure has great utility as an analytical tool to support fundamental studies of polyamic acid chemistry and two examples of this application are given.     

Characterization of large water-soluble macromolecules by size exclusion chromatography

A method for characterizing very large, water-soluble polymers by size exclusion chromotography (SEC) has been developed. Sephacryl S1000 packing material, a precision syringe pump, and an eluent pressure detector have been utilized to produce highly accurate chromatograms of polymers having molecular hydrodynamic diameters up to 250 nm. Previous SEC analysis has been limited to polymers having hydrodynamic diameters of less than 120 nm.     

Direct determination of band broadening in size exclusion chromatography

A simple method to correct the measured extent of band broadening in size exclusion chromatography for the contribution of narrow (polydisperse) standards is presented. It is based on the assumptions that commercial polymer standards can be described by a Poisson distribution and the additivity of peak variances. Two sets of standards (polystyrene from two suppliers) were investigated under normal working conditions, i.e. a combination of four columns with different porosities and a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Furthermore, the polystyrene standards were used to determine the extent of band broadening for four additional combinations of columns (varying in their separation range and porosities) as a function of the elution volume. The assumption of a constant peak variance for band broadening turned out to be a (very) rough approximation for some combinations of columns, but all results taken together demonstrate that this assumption is not generally applicable. Qualitative agreement between theory and experiment was found with a rearranged van Deemter equation.     

Calibration of ultrafiltration membranes against size exclusion chromatography columns

Using the extension of the concept of universal calibration parameter, yielding a relation between the hydrodynamic volume of molecules and the elution volume in size exclusion chromatography (SEC), to retention coefficients in ultrafiltration (UF), we propose a direct calibration of UF membranes against chromatography columns. Plotting the retention coefficient by one given UF membrane of a series of probe molecules versus their elution volume in SEC chromatography provides a calibration curve for this membrane. For a wide range of retentions, such calibration can be directly used to predict the retention of any molecule: one only needs to measure its exclusion volume by the SEC column, and read the retention by the calibrated membrane on the calibration curves.     

Error introduced into determination of pore size distribution by size exclusion chromatography

Simultaneous use of large standard molecules and small particles of the product examined gives rise to errors in pore size determination by size exclusion chromatography. This error is calculated for packings of spherical particles, thus making corrections possible.     

Application of size exclusion chromatography to the structural study of polyorganometallosiloxanes

Size exclusion chromatography was employed to elucidate the structure of the organosiloxane moiety in trimethylsiloxy derivatives of organometallosiloxanes containing Na, K, Ni, Mn, Cu, and Fe. An efficient technique of trimethylsilylation of organometallosiloxanes was developed to minimize alterations in their structure. The TMS derivatives of organometallosiloxanes were found to exist mostly as a more or less polydisperse mixture of cyclic poly[phenyltrimethylsiloxy siloxane]s. The preferred size of the cycles depends primarily on the nature of the metal in organometallosiloxane.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1057–1062, June, 1994.This work was performed with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 93-03-18121).     

The application of size exclusion chromatography to the analysis of biopolymers

High performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), employing microparticulate, hydrophilic, surface-modified silicas or hydrophilic, cross-linked, organic polymers and buffered eluents, is an effective means of separating native and denatured proteins of molecular weights in the 10 000–500 000 range. HPSEC can be further used for molecular weight identification, and the fractionation and isolation of proteins.     

Stochastic theory of size exclusion chromatography by the characteristic function approach

A general stochastic theory of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) able to account for size dependence on both pore ingress and egress processes, moving zone dispersion and pore size distribution, was developed. The relationship between stochastic-chromatographic and batch equilibrium conditions are discussed and the fundamental role of the 'ergodic' hypothesis in establishing a link between them is emphasized. SEC models are solved by means of the characteristic function method and chromatographic parameters like plate height, peak skewness and excess are derived. The peak shapes are obtained by numerical inversion of the characteristic function under the most general conditions of the exploited models. Separate size effects on pore ingress and pore egress processes are investigated and their effects on both retention selectivity and efficiency are clearly shown. The peak splitting phenomenon and peak tailing due to incomplete sample sorption near to the exclusion limit is discussed. An SEC model for columns with two types of pores is discussed and several effects on retention selectivity and efficiency coming from pore size differences and their relative abundance are singled out. The relevance of moving zone dispersion on separation is investigated. The present approach proves to be general and able to account for more complex SEC conditions such as continuous pore size distributions and mixed retention mechanism.     

Concentration effect in hyaluronan analysis by size exclusion chromatography

Summary The concentration effect in size-exclusion chromatographic analysis of hyaluronans of various relative molecular masses (RMM) has been studied. A critical concentration has been found that is negatively dependent on the hyaluronan molecular mass; the higher the biopolymer molecular mass, the smaller the injected sample where the concentration effect should be taken into account for accurate evaluation of molecular mass distribution. At higher temperatures, however, the concentration effect diminishes significantly.