Characteristics and Application of Porous Ceramic/Agarose Composite Beads Derived as an Affinity Medium

Porous ceramic/agarose composite beads were derived as a kind of glutathione S-transferase (GST) affinity medium to investigate the characteristics and application in fast protein liquid chromatography. The analysis of back pressure and chromatographic performance in a packed bed indicated that this kind of affinity medium with a rigid structure and a high level of column efficiency would be suitable for protein chromatography under high flow velocity. The good physical stability evidenced under harsh alkaline treatments ensured the application in real chromatography processes. When the porous ceramic/agarose composite beads were used in the purification process of fusion protein GST-ADAM15, the purity of the total GST related protein reached more than 91.6 % and the yield reached 44.6 % even at the flow velocity of 764.3 cm h^?1. The works indicated the characteristics of porous ceramic/agarose composite beads and their potential application in protein purification processes.