Preparative two-step purification of recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor from high-cell-density cultivation of Escherichia coli

Highly efficient soluble expression and purification of recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) by fusion with a new collagen-like protein (Scl2) in Escherichia coli

Human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) is involved in a wide range of biological activities that affect the growth, differentiation, and migration. Due to its wound healing effects and therapy, hbFGF has the potential as therapeutic agent. Therefore, large-scale production of biologically active recombinant hbFGF with low cost is highly desirable. However, the complex structure of hbFGF hinders its high-level expression as the soluble and functional form. In the present study, an efficient, cost-effective, and scalable method for producing recombinant hbFGF was developed. The modified collagen-like protein (Scl2-M) from Streptococcus pyogenes was used as the fusion tag for producing recombinant hbFGF for the first time. After optimization, the expression level of Scl2-M-hbFGF reached approximately 0.85 g/L in the shake flask and 7.7 g/L in a high cell-density fermenter using glycerol as a carbon source. Then, the recombinant Scl2-M-hbFGF was readily purified using one-step acid precipitation and the purified Scl2-M-hbFGF was digested with enterokinase. The digested mixture was further subject to ion-exchange chromatography, and the final high-purity (96%) hbFGF product was prepared by freeze-drying. The recovery rate of the whole purification process attained 55.0%. In addition, the biological activity of recombinant hbFGF was confirmed by using L929 and BALB/c3T3 fibroblasts. Overall, this method has the potential for large scale production of recombinant hbFGF.

A two-step process for capture and purification of human basic fibroblast growth factor from E. coli homogenate: Yield versus endotoxin clearance

A two-step purification process for human basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) from clarified E. coli homogenate has been developed in which the impurity level after the second step is below the limit of quantification. Endotoxin content is cleared to 0.02 EU/μg FGF-2 and the overall yield is 67%. The performance of the cation exchanger Carboxymethyl-Sepharose Fast Flow (CM-SFF) was compared to the affinity resin Heparin-SFF regarding the impurity profile and product quality in the elution peak. The CM-SFF eluate was further purified using hydrophobic interaction resin Toyopearl-Hexyl-650C. The relative amounts of target product, host cell proteins (HCPs), dsDNA, endotoxin, monomer content, and high molecular weight impurities differed along the elution peak depending on the applied method. The bioactive monomer (>99%) was obtained with a yield of 48% for CM-SFF and 68% for Heparin-SFF. A half-load reduction in CM-SFF increased the yield up to 67% without deterioration of the impurity content. Assuming a dose of 400 μg FGF-2, endotoxin was reduced to 188 EU/dose, dsDNA <10 ng/dose, and HCP <2 ppm/dose using the cation exchanger. In the pooled eluate fractions, dsDNA was removed 4-fold (291 ng/mL) and endotoxin 14-fold (0.47 EU/μg FGF-2) more efficiently by CM-SFF than by affinity chromatography. In contrast, HCP clearance was 3-fold (13 ppm) more efficient with Heparin-SFF than CM-SFF. In contrast to process monitoring by UV_280nm or SDS-PAGE, this characterization is the basis for a Process Analytical Technology attempt when correlated with online monitored signals, as it enables knowledge-based pooling according to defined quality criteria.

Intein mediated hyper-production of authentic human basic fibroblast growth factor in Escherichia coli

Human basic fibroblast growth factor is a functionally versatile but very expensive polypeptide. In this communication, employing a novel amplification method for the target gene and genetic optimization of a previously engineered expression construct, pWK3R, together with a refined fed-batch fermentation protocol, we report an achievement of a phenomenal yield of 610 mg/L of the 146 aa authentic human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in Escherichia coli. Construct pWK3R was first modified to form plasmid pWK311ROmpAd, which was devoid of the ompA leader sequence and possessed two copies of a DNA segment encoding a fusion product comprising an intein, Saccharomyces cerevisiae vascular membrane ATPase (VMA), and bFGF. When E. coli transformant JM101 [pWK311ROmpAd] was cultivated using the refined fed-batch fermentation protocol, superb expression resulting in a total yield of 610 mg/L of bFGF was detected. Despite existing in high levels, the bFGF remained to be soluble and highly bioactive.

Enhancing the selective extracellular location of a recombinant E. coli domain antibody by management of fermentation conditions

The preparation of a recombinant protein using Escherichia coli often involves a challenging primary recovery sequence. This is due to the inability to secrete the protein to the extracellular space without a significant degree of cell lysis. This results in the release of nucleic acids, leading to a high viscosity, difficulty to clarify, broth and also to contamination with cell materials such as lipopolysaccharides and host cell proteins. In this paper, we present different fermentation strategies to facilitate the recovery of a V H domain antibody (13.1 kDa) by directing it selectively to the extracellular space and changing the balance between domain antibody to nucleic acid release. The manipulation of the cell growth rate in order to increase the outer cell membrane permeability gave a small ~1.5-fold improvement in released domain antibody to nucleic acid ratio without overall loss of yield. The introduction during fermentation of release agents such as EDTA gave no improvement in the ratio of released domain antibody to nucleic acid and a loss of overall productivity. The use of polyethyleneimine (PEI) during fermentation was with the aim to (a) permeabilise the outer bacterial membrane to release selectively domain antibody and (b) remove selectively by precipitation nucleic acids released during cell lysis. This strategy resulted in up to ~4-fold increase in the ratio of domain antibody to soluble nucleic acid with no reduction in domain antibody overall titre. In addition, a reduction in host cell protein contamination was achieved and there was no increase in endotoxin levels. Similar results were demonstrated with a range of other antibody products prepared in E. coli.

A revolutionary approach facilitating co-expression of authentic human epidermal growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor in both cytoplasm and culture medium of Escherichia coli

During secretory or excretory production of heterologous proteins in Escherichia coli, peptidase processing cleaves the signal peptide off from a premature protein, which is then secreted as a mature product. Many proteins have been successfully expressed as secreted/excreted products in E. coli. However, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), despite its suitability for secretory/excretory production in E. coli, has never been successfully expressed using such an approach. In this communication, we report the application of a revolutionary E. coli system to the efficient expression of not only bFGF, but also human epidermal growth factor (EGF) concurrently, as authentic products in the culture supernatant (SN). More interestingly, both polypeptides were also shown to be present at high levels as authentic products in the cell lysate (CL). The manifestation of this unusual phenomenon required a collaborative action between construct pWKW2, an efficient excretion vector engineered by our group to facilitate extracellular production of EGF, and the Sce VMA intein, which enables self-cleavage of protein sequences fused to it. Both bFGF and EGF derived from SN and CL were characterized to be bioactive. Moreover, despite employing only shake-flask cultivation, the total yields of bFGF and EGF recovered from both SN and CL were impressive, amounting to 103 and 74 mg l(-1) of culture, respectively. The novel expression approach introduced herein may prove to be practically useful for the production of a wide range of proteins in the future.

Expression and purification of biologically active human FGF2 containing the b'a' domains of human PDI in Escherichia coli

Among the members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family that affect the growth, differentiation, migration, and survival of many cell types, FGF2 is the most abundant in the central nervous system. Because of its wound healing effects, FGF2 has potential as a therapeutic agent. The protein is also added to the culture media to maintain stem cells. Expression and purification procedures for FGF2 that are highly efficient and low cost have been intensively investigated for the past two decades. Our current study focuses on the purification of FGF2 fused with b'a' domains of human protein disulfide isomerase to elevate overexpression, solubility, and stability with a simplified experimental procedure using only ion exchange chromatography, as well as on the confirmation of the biological activity of FGF2 on fibroblast Balb/c 3T3 cells and hippocampal neural cells.

Authentic human basic fibroblast growth factor produced by secretion in Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis is generally accepted as an inborn host candidate employed for secretory production of heterologous proteins. However, this ideal host system has never been employed for commercial production of medically useful proteins. In this communication, we report for the first time the employment of an engineered B. subtilis system, in conjunction with a facile cell-wall destabilization protocol, to successfully obtain an alluring yield of 40 mg l(-1) of secreted human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) in the culture supernatant. The product was not only shown to exhibit potent bioactivity but also revealed to possess a protein sequence identical to that of mature native hbFGF (Mat-hbFGF). Our findings may pave way for the development of a cost-effective process for producing Mat-hbFGF, which is currently sold at an unusually expensive price of over US $1 million g(-1), for medical and skin care applications.

Growth and productivity impacts of periplasmic nuclease expression in an Escherichia coli Fab' fragment production strain

Host cell engineering is becoming a realistic option in whole bioprocess strategies to maximize product manufacturability. High molecular weight (MW) genomic DNA currently hinders bioprocessing of Escherichia coli by causing viscosity in homogenate feedstocks. We previously showed that co-expressing Staphylococcal nuclease and human Fab' fragment in the periplasm of E. coli enables auto-hydrolysis of genomic DNA upon cell disruption, with a consequent reduction in feedstock viscosity and improvement in clarification performance. Here we report the impact of periplasmic nuclease expression on stability of DNA and Fab' fragment in homogenates, host-strain growth kinetics, cell integrity at harvest and Fab' fragment productivity. Nuclease and Fab' plasmids were shown to exert comparable levels of growth burden on the host W3110 E. coli strain. Nuclease co-expression did not compromise either the growth performance or volumetric yield of the production strain. 0.5 g/L Fab' fragment (75 L scale) and 0.7 g/L (20 L scale) was achieved for both unmodified and cell-engineered production strains. Unexpectedly, nuclease-modified cells achieved maximum Fab' levels 8-10 h earlier than the original, unmodified production strain. Scale-down studies of homogenates showed that nuclease-mediated hydrolysis of high MW DNA progressed to completion within minutes of homogenization, even when homogenates were chilled on ice, with no loss of Fab' product and no need for additional co-factors or buffering.

Purification and Refolding of Overexpressed Human Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor in Escherichia coli

This work describes the integration of expanded bed adsorption (EBA) and adsorptive protein refolding operations used to recover purified and biologically active human basic fibroblast growth factor from inclusion bodies expressed in E. coli. Insoluble overexpressed human basic fibroblast growth factor has been purified on CM Hyper Z matrix by expanded bed adsorption after isolation and solubilization in 8 M urea. The adsorption was made in expanded bed without clarification steps such as centrifugation. Column refolding was done by elimination of urea and elution with NaCl. The human basic fibroblast growth factor was obtained as a highly purified soluble monomer form with similar behavior in circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy as native protein. A total of 92.52% of the available human basic fibroblast growth factor was recovered as biologically active and purified protein using the mentioned purification and refolding process. This resulted in the first procedure describing high-throughput purification and refolding of human basic fibroblast growth factor in one step and is likely to have the greatest benefit for proteins that tend to aggregate when refolded by dilution.

Transport and binding characterization of a novel hybrid particle impregnated membrane material for bioseparations

The transport and binding properties of a novel hybrid particle-nonwoven membrane medium are described. In this construct, a polymeric chromatographic resin is entrapped between two layers of a nonwoven polypropylene membrane. The membrane-supported resin medium offers the advantage of increased interstitial pore diameter to allow passage of cells and other debris in the feed, while providing sufficiently high surface area for product capture within the resin particles. Columns packed with PIM displayed excellent flow distribution and had interstitial porosities of 0.48 ± 0.01, 25-60% larger than those typical of a packed bed. These columns were able to pass over 95% of E. coli cells and human red blood cell concentrate in 30 column volumes while maintaining a pressure drop significantly lower than that of a packed bed with a similar amount of resin. The dynamic binding capacity of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to the chromatographic resin entrapped in the PIM packed column was essentially the same as that observed with the same volume of resin in a packed bed. The General Rate (GR) model of chromatography was used to analyze experiments indicating the breakthrough behavior of the PIM columns is predictable, and very similar to those of a normal packed bed. These results suggest that PIM constructs can be designed to process viscous mobile phases containing particulates while retaining the desirable binding characteristics of the embedded chromatographic resin and could find uses in adsorption separation processes from complex feed streams such as whole blood, cell culture, and food processing.

Strategies for improving production and purification of a recombinant protein: rP30 of Toxoplasma gondii expressed in the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Many problems concerned with the production and the purification of recombinant proteins must be addressed prior to launching an industrial production process. Among these problems, attention is focused on low-level expression that complicates the purification step and can jeopardise the process. The expression of a membrane protein, rP30, of Toxoplasma gondii in the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe led to a secretion of only 0.5 microg ml(-1). In order to obtain a sufficient quantity for biochemical characterization and evaluation in vitro diagnostic test development, strategies for both production and purification had to be optimized. First, the influence of four nitrogen sources (three peptones and yeast extract) on the growth rate, but also on the separation between the protein and the components of the fermentation broth was assessed. Second, batch and fed-batch fermentations were compared in terms of final biomass and rP30 concentrations. Third, three different protocols that included fixed and expanded bed ion exchange chromatography were compared for processing a large volume of feedstock. By using the most appropriate strategies, i.e. fed-batch fermentation, capture on EBA cation exchanger and affinity chromatography polishing, a purification factor of 1778 and a yield of 49% were achieved. These performances allowed a 12.5-fold increase for the overall rP30 process productivity.

Manufacturing of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems

Recombinant therapeutic proteins have gained enormous importance for clinical applications. The first recombinant products have been produced in E. coli more than 20 years ago. Although with the advent of antibody-based therapeutics mammalian expression systems have experienced a major boost, microbial expression systems continue to be widely used in industry. Their intrinsic advantages, such as rapid growth, high yields and ease of manipulation, make them the premier choice for expression of non-glycosylated peptides and proteins. Innovative product classes such as antibody fragments or alternative binding molecules will further expand the use of microbial systems. Even more, novel, engineered production hosts and integrated technology platforms hold enormous potential for future applications. This review summarizes current applications and trends for development, production and analytical characterization of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems.

Proapoptotic, Antimigratory, Antiproliferative, and Antiangiogenic Effects of Commercial C-Reactive Protein on Various Human Endothelial Cell Types In Vitro

Recent experimental studies suggest C-reactive protein (CRP) may be a potential mediator of atherosclerosis and its complications. However, there is growing criticism of in vitro CRP studies that use commercial CRP preparations containing biologically active contaminants. The effects of commercial CRP, dialyzed commercial CRP (dCRP) to remove azide, and sodium azide (NaN 3 ) alone at equivalent concentrations to the undialyzed preparation were tested at varying concentrations on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), circulating endothelial outgrowth cells (EOC), and endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) in vitro. CRP and NaN 3 alone exhibited equivalent concentration-dependent, proapoptotic effects on HUVEC, EOC, and EPC ( P <0.01 versus control), whereas dCRP had no such effect. Similarly, CRP and NaN 3 alone caused equivalent concentration-dependent decreases in migration, proliferation, and matrigel tube formation ( P <0.01 versus control) in EOC and HUVEC, whereas dCRP had absolutely no effect on these biological functions at any of the concentrations used. We conclude that proapoptotic, antiproliferative, antimigratory, and antiangiogenic effects of this commercial CRP preparation on a number of endothelial cell phenotypes in culture may be explained by the presence of sodium azide in this preparation. This study has implications for interpretation of in vitro studies using CRP preparations containing azide at equivalent or higher concentrations.

Comparison of chromatographic ion-exchange resins

A comparative study was performed on heparin resins and strong and weak cation exchangers to investigate the pH dependence, efficiency, binding strength, particle size distribution, static and dynamic capacity, and scanning electron microscopy pictures of chromatographic resins. The resins tested include: Heparin Sepharose FF, SP Sepharose FF, CM Sepharose FF, Heparin Toyopearl 650 m, SP Toyopearl 650 m, CM Toyopearl 650 m, Ceramic Heparin HyperD M, Ceramic S HyperD 20, and Ceramic CM HyperD F. Testing was performed with four different proteins: anti-FVII Mab (IgG), aprotinin, lysozyme, and myoglobin. Dependence of pH on retention was generally very low for proteins with high isoelectric point (pI), though some decrease of retention with increasing pH was observed for CM Ceramic HyperD F and S Ceramic HyperD 20. Binding of anti-FVII Mab with pI < 7.5 was observed on several resins at pH 7.5. Efficiency results show the expected trend of increasing dependence of the plate height with increasing flow rate of Ceramic HyperD resins followed by Toyopearl 650 m resins and the highest flow dependence of the Sepharose FF resins corresponding to their pressure resistance. Determination of particle size distribution by two independent methods, coulter counting and SEM, was in good agreement. Binding strength of cation-exchange resins as a function of ionic strength varies depending on the protein. Binding and elution at high salt concentration may be performed with Ceramic HyperD resins, while binding and elution at low salt concentration may be performed with model proteins on heparin resins. Employing proteins with specific affinity for heparin, a much stronger binding is observed, however, some cation exchangers may still be good substitutions for heparin resins. Dynamic capacity at 10% breakthrough compared to static capacity measurements and dynamic capacity displays that approximately 40-80% of the total available capacity is utilized during chromatographic operation depending on flow rate. A general good agreement was obtained between results of this study and data obtained by others. Results of this study may be used in the selection of resins for testing during protein purification process development.

Solubility of disulfide-bonded proteins in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli and its “oxidizing” mutant

AIM: To study the influence of redox environment of Escherichia coli (E. coli) cytoplasm on disulfide bond formation of recombinant proteins.

METHODS: Bovine fibroblast growth factor (BbFGF) was selected as a model of simple proteins with a single disulfide bond and free cysteines. Anti-HBsAg single-chain Fv (HBscFv), an artificial multidomain protein, was selected as the model molecule of complex protein with 2 disulfide bonds. A BbFGF-producing plasmid, pJN-BbFGF, and a HBscFv producing-plasmid, pQE-HBscFv, were constructed and transformed into E. coli strains BL21(DE3) and M15[pREP4] respectively. At the same time, both plasmids were transformed into a reductase-deficient host strain, E. coli Origami(DE3). The 4 recombinant E. coli strains were cultured and the target proteins were purified. Solubility and bioactivity of recombinant BbFGF and HBscFv produced in different host strains were analyzed and compared respectively.

RESULTS: All recombinant E. coli strains could efficiently produce target proteins. The level of BbFGF in BL21(DE3) was 15-23% of the total protein, and was 5-10% in Origami (DE3). In addition, 65% of the BbFGF produced in BL21(DE3) formed into inclusion body in the cytoplasm, and all the target proteins became soluble in Origami(DE3). The bioactivity of BbFGF purified from Origami(DE3) was higher than its counterpart from BL21(DE3). The ED₅₀ of BbFGF from Origami(DE3) and BL21(DE3) was 1.6 μg/L and 2.2 μg/L, respectively. Both HBscFv formed into inclusion body in the cytoplasm of M15[pQE-HBscFv] or Origami[pQE-HBscFv]. But the supernatant of Origami[pQE-HBscFv] lysate displayed weak bioactivity and its counterpart from M15[pQE-HBscFv] did not display any bioactivity. The soluble HBscFv in Origami[pQE-HBscFv] was purified to be 1-2 mg/L and its affinity constant was determined to be 2.62×10⁷ mol/L. The yield of native HBscFv refolded from inclusion body in M15[pQE-HBscFv] was 30-35 mg/L and the affinity constant was 1.98×10⁷ mol/L. There was no significant difference between the bioactivity of HBscFvs refolded from the inclusion bodies produced in different host strains.

CONCLUSION: Modification of the redox environment of E. coli cytoplasm can significantly improve the folding of recombinant disulfide-bonded proteins produced in it.

Overexpression, Purification, and Characterization of ProQ, a Posttranslational Regulator for Osmoregulatory Transporter ProP of Escherichia coli

ProP is an osmosensor and osmoregulatory transporter in Escherichia coli. Osmotic activation of ProP is attenuated 5-fold in the absence of soluble protein ProQ, but proQ lesions do not influence proP transcription or ProP levels. The mechanism by which ProQ amplifies ProP activity is unknown. Putative proQ orthologues are found in Gram-negative bacteria (only), but none have known functions. ProQ was overexpressed to low and high levels with and without a C-terminal histidine tag (His(6)). Plasmid-encoded ProQ or ProQ-His(6) complemented in-frame chromosomal deletion DeltaproQ676, restoring ProP activity. After overexpression, both proteins were poorly soluble unless cells were lysed in media of high salinity. ProQ copurified with DNA binding proteins of similar size (HU and a histone-like protein) by ion exchange and exclusion chromatographies, whereas ProQ-His(6) could be purified to homogeneity by nickel chelate affinity chromatography. Sequence-based analysis and modeling suggest that ProQ includes distinct N- and C-terminal domains linked by an unstructured sequence. The N-terminal domain can be modeled on the crystal structure of alpha-helical RNA binding protein FinO, whereas the C-terminal domain can be modeled on an SH3-like domain (beta-structure). Both ProQ and ProQ-His(6) appeared to be monomeric, though the higher Stokes radius of ProQ-His(6) may reflect altered domain interactions. The measured secondary structure content of ProQ (circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy) contrasted with sequence-based prediction but was as expected if the spectrum of the C-terminal domain is analogous to those reported for SH3 domains. The CD spectrum of ProQ was pH- but not NaCl-sensitive.

Imparting bone affinity to glycoproteins through the conjugation of bisphosphonates

PURPOSE

To develop a novel means of conjugating bisphosphonates onto the carbohydrate moieties of glycoproteins to enhance protein affinity to bone.

METHODS

1-Amino-1,1-diphosphonate methane (aminoBP) was conjugated onto the carbohydrate moietites of oxidized fetuin by using 4-(maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxyl-hydrazide (MMCCH). Bone affinity of the resulting conjugates was compared to proteins obtained from another means of conjugation, whereby aminoBP was conjugated onto fetuin's lysine moieties by using succinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl)-cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (SMCC).

RESULTS

The use of the MMCCH resulted in the conjugation of up to seven aminoBPs per molecule of fetuin. These conjugates gave a 2.6-, 2.0-, 30.5-. and 1.84-fold increased affinity for untreated, ashed, demineralized bone and hydroxyapatite, respectively, as compared to conjugates from the SMCC reaction. Both conjugates exhibited a pH-independent, equally slow degradation in adult bovine serum-containing media.

CONCLUSION

The use of the MMCCH chemistry to conjugate aminoBP onto fetuin was feasible. Furthermore, the described processes of conjugation resulted in amino-BP-dependent increase in the glycoprotein's affinity to various bone matrices in a manner that exceeds the affinity produced by the previously established method, which used SMCC.

Integrated strategy for selective expanded bed ion-exchange adsorption and site-specific protein processing using gene fusion technology

The highly charged domain Z(basic) can be used as a fusion partner to enhance adsorption of target proteins to cation exchanging resins at high pH-values. In this paper, we describe a strategy for purification of target proteins fused to Z(basic) at a constant physiological pH using cation exchange chromatography in an expanded bed mode. We show that two proteins, Klenow DNA polymerase and the viral protease 3C, can be efficiently purified from unclarified Escherichia coli homogenates in a single step with a selectivity analogous to what is normally achieved by affinity chromatography. The strategy also includes an integrated site-specific removal of the Z(basic) purification handle to yield a free target protein.

Macroporous copolymer matrix. IV. Expanded bed adsorption application

Macroporous crosslinked hydroxyethyl methacrylate-ethylene dimethacrylate copolymeric beads (HEG beads) were synthesized by suspension polymerization in the presence of a pore generating agent. These beads were coupled to alpha-cyclodextrin through a urethane spacer. These modified copolymer beads (affinity-HEG beads) so prepared were evaluated for their suitability in expanded bed chromatography. The optimum thickness of the distributor plate for stable expanded bed for use in expanded bed adsorption (EBA) was established. The affinity-HEG beads are comparable in density to Streamline diethyl amino ethane (DEAE) and exhibit better mechanical stability at higher superficial velocity under fluidization. The affinity-BEG beads were used as affinity chromatography matrices for the purification of cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase. Feeding of 5-fold diluted fermented broth to the column containing affinity-HEG beads of settled bed height 7.5 cm (I.D. 26 mm and length 42 cm) at double bed expansion resulted in a sharp breakthrough curve of alpha-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase). The adsorbed enzyme was eluted from the bed in 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer containing 10 mM CaCl2 at 25 degrees C in packed bed configuration.