High-performance affinity chromatography

High-performance affinity chromatography is a new technique for the fast and efficient purification of biologically active molecules. It combines the biospecificity of affinity chromatography with the high speed and resolution obtained in high-performance liquid chromatography. In particular, the immobilization of ligands to different silica derivatives and their suitability for high-performance affinity chromatography are discussed.     

High-performance affinity chromatography of DNA

The octadecamer of thymidylic acid, (dT)18, was synthesized with a primary amino group on the 5'-terminal phosphate and this was covalently coupled to 300 A pore macroporous silica. Coupling was performed inside a prepacked column to an activated N-hydroxysuccinimidyl ester silica. The (dT)18-silica column successfully separates mixtures of adenine oligomers differing in length by one nucleotide. The dependence upon salt concentration, temperature and length for elution of oligonucleotides was determined. Methods were also developed to selectively elute such columns using either salt or temperature gradients.     

High-performance affinity chromatography of DNA : II. Porosity effects

A DNA-silica, (dT)₁₈-silica, was prepared and used in a study of the chromatography of the oligonucleotide, (dA)₁₈, based upon base pairing. It was shown that hybridization efficiency did not depend upon flow-rates up to 2 ml/min for the small columns (22 × 2 mm) used. As increasing amounts of (dA)₁₈ were loaded onto the columns, the columns were found to saturate at a well defined capacity that was always less than the amount that theoretically could have been bound. Maximum capacity was achieved whenever the loading temperature was at least 20–25°C below the temperature at which the loaded oligonucleotide would elute. The effects of porosity on both coupling efficiency and capacity were measured and suggest that pore sizes in the 300–500 Å range are most appropriate for this form of chromatography.     

High-performance affinity chromatography: a powerful separation technique

Analyses of complex biochemical samples can be performed within one minute using a method which combines the selectivity of affinity chromatography with the speed of high-performance liquid chromatography.     

High-performance metal chelate affinity chromatography of cytochromes P-450 using Chelating Superose.

High-performance metal chelate affinity chromatography [immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC)] using Chelating Superose (iminodiacetic acid adsorbent) was investigated for its suitability in purifying phenobarbital-induced rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 isozymes (P450) and optimized for preparative purposes. Starting with an 8-aminooctyl-Sepharose fraction of partially purified P450, it was found that only Ni(2+)- and Cu(2+)-charged columns could bind P450. No binding was ever observed when Zn2+, Co2+, Mn2+, Cd2+, Fe3+, Fe2+ or Tl3+ ions were employed. Of eight commonly used elution buffers, imidazole and tryptamine were found to cause some denaturation of P450. For desorption of proteins bound to Ni(2+)-charged columns, the following order of decreasing elution buffer strength was determined: cysteine approximately histidine greater than glycine greater than histamine greater than tryptophan greater than ammonium chloride. During protein desorption with some of these buffers, metal ions were found to bleed from the gel, resulting in P450 denaturation. This could be eliminated by prebleeding the charged columns prior to sample application and had an effect on product recovery and homogeneity. Ni2+ and glycine were chosen as a standard for further optimization involving sample adsorption conditions as influenced by equilibration buffer, detergent, load capacity and flow, gradient and temperature conditions. In this way, potassium phosphate (pH 7.75) and 0.4% Emulgen 911 were used to equilibrate a 1.6-ml column and purify 20-50 nmol of P450 (5-15 mg of protein) within 15 min. One gradient fraction consisted of a single sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis band as judged by silver staining and represented about 25% of the total P450 applied to the column; total recoveries were usually more than 80%. Comparison with the molecular weights and spectral, catalytic and immunological properties of P450 forms isolated according to established procedures indicated that the form isolated here using Chelating Superose comprises mainly P450 2B1 (PB-B). A method is described for fully automated, programmable column regeneration and sample runs.     

High-performance monolith affinity chromatography for fast quantitation of immunoglobulin G

High-performance monolith affinity chromatography employing protein A resins has been introduced previously for the fast purification of IgG from different sources. Here we describe the design and evaluation of a fast and specific method for quantitation of IgG from purified samples as well as crude supernatant from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. We used a commercially available affinity monolith with protein A as affinity ligand (CIM protein A HLD disk). Interferences of CHO host cell proteins with the quantitation of IgG from CHO supernatant were eliminated by a careful choice of the equilibration buffer. With this method developed, it is possible to quantify IgG within 5 min in a concentration range of 23-250 microg/ml. The calibration range of the method could be extended from 4 to 1000 microg/ml by adjusting the injection volume. The method was successfully validated by measuring the low limit of detection and quantification, inter- and intra-day precision and selectivity.     

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.     

High-performance affinity chromatography of oligonucleotides on nucleic acid analogue immobilized silica gel columns.

The nucleic acid analogues poly(9-vinyladenine) (PVAd), poly(9-adenylethyl methacrylate) and poly(thymylethyl methacrylate) (PTM) were chemically bonded to porous silica gel, which had been pretreated with 3-trimethoxysilylpropyl methacrylate, by free radical copolymerization to produce novel packing materials for affinity chromatographic columns. The columns separated nucleosides and nucleotide dimers on the basis of hydrophobic interaction using an aqueous buffer and complementary hydrogen bonding interaction in methanol as an eluent. The PVAd- and PTM-silica gel columns gave a nucleobase-selective separation of oligonucleotides differing in length from mixtures of oligoadenylic and oligouridylic acids. On the PVAd-silica gel column terminal phosphate isomers of oligouridylic acid up to seven mer were resolved and the elution order of the isomers was different from that on an ODS column.     

High-performance affinity chromatography system for the rapid, efficient assay of glycated albumin.

A high-performance affinity chromatographic system was constructed and shown to permit highly reproducible, rapid, automatic assays of serum glycated albumin (GA) by separation of albumin (Alb) on an anion-exchange column (Asahipak ES-502N) packed with a vinyl alcohol copolymer bearing diethylamino groups and consecutive separation of GA on a column packed with a vinyl alcohol copolymer bearing boronate groups. The first column selectively retained Alb free of other serum proteins and permitted at least a 95% recovery of sample Alb. The purity of the Alb peak was confirmed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Chromatographic analyses of human serum Alb incubated with glucose on the second column showed that the peak area for GA increased in accordance with the incubation time and suggested selective adsorption of GA on the second column. Optimization of the conditions for the two-column system reduced the analysis time to 10 min. Analyses of human sera with the present system showed GA to be 16.1 +/- 1.1% (mean +/- S.D.) of total Alb in non-diabetic children and 39.9 +/- 9.1% (mean +/- S.D.) in diabetic children (0-17 years old).     

High-performance affinity monolith chromatography for chiral separation and determination of enzyme kinetic constants

A new kind of immobilized human serum albumin (HSA) column was developed by using the sub-micron skeletal polymer monolith based on poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) [poly(GMA-EDMA)] as the support of high-performance affinity chromatography. Using the epoxide functional groups presented in GMA, the HSA immobilization procedure was performed by two different means. The affinity columns were successfully adopted for the chiral separation of d,l-amino acids (AAs). Then this method was shown to be applicable to the quantitative analysis of d-tryptophan, with a linear range between 12.0 μM and 979.0 μM, and a correlation coefficient above 0.99. Furthermore, it was used for the analysis of urine sample. This assay is demonstrated to be facile and relatively rapid. So it allows us to measure the enzyme catalytic activity in the incubation of d,l-AAs with d-AA oxidase and to study the kinetics of the enzyme reaction. It implied that the affinity monolithic columns can be a useful tool for studying DAAO enzyme reaction and investigating the potential enzyme mechanism requirement among chiral conversion.     

Membrane-based receptor affinity chromatography.

Membrane-based receptor affinity chromatography (MRAC), which utilizes the molecular recognition between an immobilized receptor and its soluble protein ligand, has been developed for the purification of human interleukin-2 and related biomolecules. The multi-purpose affinity membrane used in this study consisted of a soluble form of interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) chemically bonded to hollow-fiber membranes in an oriented fashion. A model system involving anti-Tac-H (a humanized monoclonal antibody to IL-2R) was used to study the important factors influencing the performance of MRAC, including support morphology, mass transfer rate and adsorption kinetics. All three are shown to be highly efficient. MRAC has been successfully applied to the purification of anti-Tac-H, recombinant human interleukin-2 (rIL-2) and interleukin 2-Pseudomonas exotoxin fusion protein (IL2-PE40). Overall, MRAC was found to be a viable, scalable and extremely productive affinity purification method.     

Trypsin and affinity chromatography.

Affinity adsorbents for trypsin which were prepared by immobilizing product-type ligands, that is, peptides having C-terminal arginine, proved to be effective not only for preparative purposes but also for basic research on molecular recognition. The properties of the binding site of trypsin were revealed by chromatographic experiments. Quantitative analysis based on the theory of frontal affinity chromatography proved to be extremely effective. As an extension of the product-type ligands, peptide argininals were also used and information on the mechanism of action of these inhibitors was obtained. Anhydrotrypsin, which lost the hydroxyl group of Ser183, was found to gain increased binding ability for product-type compounds. This inactivated enzyme was also used as an immobilized ligand and the unique affinity adsorbent thus prepared proved to be extremely effective for the separation of peptides and recombinant proteins based on their C-terminal structures. High-performance affinity chromatography of trypsin and related enzymes using a polymer-based support was also developed.     

High-performance affinity chromatography of NADP+ dehydrogenases from cell-free extracts using a nucleotide analogue as general ligand.

An epoxy-activated silica column (50 cm x 0.45 cm I.D.) was derivatized with 8-[6-aminohexyl)amino]-2'-phosphoadenosine-5'-diphosphoribose; the bound ligand concentration was 11.4 mumol/g of dry silica, and the useful loading capacity was 2.3 mg of glutathione reductase. The new high-performance liquid chromatographic column specifically retained NADP(+)-dependent enzymes, which were quantitatively eluted specifically by NADP+ or, with better resolution, by potassium chloride. The new high-performance liquid chromatographic support was applied to the purification of glutathione reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from cell-free extracts of baker's yeast, fish liver and rabbit hemolysates, with high recoveries and excellent purification factors.     

High-performance catalytic chromatography. The adapter approach

A sequence-specific DNA that binds EcoRI endonuclease was immobilized on glycidioloxypropyl-silica and Sepharose by cyanogen bromide (CNBr)-activated coupling. Elution of bound enzyme by conventional affinity strategies (increase of salt concentration) or by catalysis-induced elution (adding a Mg2+ cofactor required for catalysis) was compared. Greater yield and fold-purification was obtained with catalysis-induced elution for both DNA-silica and DNA-Sepharose columns, and silica gives higher performance than Sepharose. Sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed primarily a single band for EcoRI endonuclease for catalysis-induced elution from DNA-silica columns. Since catalysis-induced elution decreases the lifetime of DNA affinity columns, an alternative approach for preparing re-usable DNA columns was also developed. In this approach, a single stranded adapter DNA sequence is first coupled to silica or Sepharose and then annealed with another DNA sequence that contains a complementary, single stranded tail and the duplex binding site for EcoRI endonuclease. After use, replacing the hydrolyzed DNA regenerates the column. For this adapter approach, Sepharose gives better purity than silica and comparable yields and catalytic based elution gave the highest purity and yield, regardless of support. Substrate DNA with either a tail (for annealing to the column) at one end or both ends were compared and the former gave higher purity. Finally, enzyme binding to the substrate in solution ("trapping") or on a pre-bound substrate column was compared and trapping gave higher yield and similar purity to the alternative. Thus, trapping with a single tailed substrate oligonucleotide on a Sepharose adapter column and using catalytic elution gave the highest performance.     

High-performance affinity chromatography of a chick lectin on an adsorbent based on hydrophilic polymer gel

A mouse monoclonal antibody (SIA4-5) which reacts with a chick 14K lectin (C14K) was covalently attached to a new support for high-performance affinity chromatography, TSKgel Tresyl-5PW, which is a preactivated, polymer-based particle. The immobilized antibody (SIA4-5-5PW) thus prepared proved to be useful in measuring not only the molecular properties of C14K but also specific interactions of C14K with SIA4-5 and hapten sugars. The C14K preparation was fractionated according to the oligomeric structure and with slight differences in affinity to SIA4-5 although the former was homogeneous in sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Application of the method for quantitative analytical purposes was successful.     

High-performance liquid affinity chromatography for the purification of immunoglobulin A from human serum using jacalin

A high-performance liquid affinity chromatographic method for the purification of serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) using a jacalin column is described. The automated procedure takes about 2 with minimal manipulation. The yields of the isolated IgA and of its IgG and IgM contamination were studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of 30 sera. Purity was assured by immunoelectrophoresis. The ratio of IgA1 to total IgA was unchanged after purification, as verified by ELISA. The results showed that greater than 90% IgA could be recovered with less than 0.5% total IgG and greater than 2.0% total IgM remaining in the fractions containing purified IgA.     

High-performance affinity chromatography of plasmin and plasminogen on a hydrophilic vinyl-polymer gel coupled with p-aminobenzamidine

p-Aminobenzamidine was covalently attached via a spacer moiety to a microparticulate hydrophilic vinyl-polymer gel (Toyopearl HW65S) and this affinity adsorbent was used for the separation of plasmin and plasminogen by high-performance affinity chromatography. Toyopearl HW65S was alkylated with chloroacetylglycylglycine in dimethyl sulphoxide using methylsulphinyl carbanion as a catalyst, then p-aminobenzamidine was coupled to the carboxyl group of glycylglycine to form an acid amide bond. A column packed with the adsorbent retained both plasmin and plasminogen. Plasminogen was eluted with 6-aminohexanoic acid, a haptenic compound for the lysine-binding sites of plasminogen. For the elution of plasmin, the coexistence of 6-aminohexanoic acid and leupeptin (a competitive inhibitor for plasmin) was necessary. The results indicate a two-site interaction of plasmin with the immobilized ligand, i.e., at the lysine-binding sites and the catalytic site. Fluorometric detection of eluted protein and on-line assay of plasmin activity using a fluorogenic substrate, peptidylmethylcoumarylamide, revealed that effective chromatographic separation of the enzyme could be achieved with high sensitivity (10 micrograms) within 1 h.