Preparative free-flow isoelectric focusing: modeling and experiments

Continuous flow isoelectric focusing for purification of proteins

To estimate the feasibility of isoelectric focusing in a continuous mode, the conditions for obtaining stable and linear pH gradients were first investigated, using a mixture of carrier ampholytes. Then the operating parameters allowing the isoelectric focusing of bovine serum albumin as model protein were determined. A theoretical approach was used to find conditions minimizing the electrohydrodynamic effect, mainly responsible for protein dispersion, for the separation of bovine serum albumin and alpha-lactalbumin from bovine milk.

Continuous free-flow electrophoresis

This review evaluates the literature on continuous free flow electrophoresis, published during the last four years. Its aim is to serve not only experts in the field but also newcomers, and, therefore, it also briefly describes the principles of the method and the techniques used, referring to fundamental papers published earlier. The actual commercial instrumentation is briefly outlined. A substantial part of this review is devoted to the optimization of the performance of this method. Finally, diverse applications of fractionations of charged species in solution, ranging from small ions to biological particles and cells, are surveyed.

The role of pH and membrane porosity in preparative electrophoresis

The Gradiflow is a preparative electrophoresis apparatus, allowing fractionation based on a combination of size and charge of proteins in their native (unreduced) form. The preparative fractionation of two proteins of similar size and isoelectric point is demonstrated using the Gradiflow. A separation membrane of appropriate pore size was chosen and then fractionation was "fine tuned" by selecting an appropriate buffer pH to accentuate charge differences between the proteins of interest. Complete separation of mg quantities of bovine serum albumin and ovalbumin was achieved within 40 min.

Solute focusing techniques for bioseparations

The growth of industrial biotechnology has had a major impact on the research and development of both analytical and preparative focusing techniques. Pioneering methods such as isoelectric focusing are being modified to overcome the limitations of batch mode operation, scale up difficulties, high power requirement, and excessive heat generation. present advances in focusing techniques have been made by either overcoming the limitations of standard techniques or by investigating new focusing systems. Here we review the background and history of isoelectric focusing and discuss several new focusing techniques including recycle isoelectric (RIEF), counteracting chromatographic electrophoresis (CACE), and countercurrent gradient chromatography (CGC).