Synthesis and Characterization of High-Affinity, Low-Molecular-Mass Displacers for Anion-Exchange Chromatography

The first one-pot synthesis of a chiral pentakis-adduct of C60 utilising an opened-structure malonate tether

A pentakis-adduct of C60 with an incomplete octahedral addition pattern was synthesised via a one-pot procedure using a tether equipped with five malonate moieties. The five-fold Bingel cyclopropanation of C60 was completely regioselective and afforded a chiral, C2-symmetric pentakis-adduct which was easily separated by column chromatography on SiO2.

Dynamic behavior of binary component ion-exchange displacement chromatography of proteins visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was introduced to visualize particle-scale binary component protein displacement behavior in Q Sepharose HP column. To this end, displacement chromatography of two intrinsic fluorescent proteins, enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP), were developed using sodium saccharin (NaSac) as a displacer. The results indicated that RFP as well as eGFP could be effectively displaced in the single-component experiments by 50 mmol/L NaSac at 120 and 140 mmol/L NaCl whereas a fully developed displacement train with eGFP and RFP was only observed at 120 mmol/L NaCl in binary component displacement. At 140 mmol/L NaCl, there was a serious overlapping of the zones of the two proteins, indicating the importance of induced-salt effect on the formation of an isotachic displacement train. CLSM provided particle-scale evidence that induced-salt effect occurred likewise in the interior of an adsorbent and was synchronous to the introduction of the displacer. CLSM results at 140 mmol/L NaCl also demonstrated that both the proteins had the same fading rate at 50 mmol/L NaSac in the initial stage, suggesting the same displacement ability of NaSac to both the proteins. In the final stage, the fading rate of RFP in the adsorbent became slow, particularly at lower displacer concentrations. In the binary component displacement, the two proteins exhibited distinct fading rates as compared to the single component displacement and the remarkable lagging of the fading rate was observed in protein displacements. It suggested that the co-adsorbed proteins had significant influence on the formation of an isotachic train and the displacement chromatography of the proteins. Therefore, this research provided particle-scale insight into the dynamic behavior and complexity in the displacement of proteins.

Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy-based high-throughput screening of ligands for use in affinity and displacement chromatography

We describe an approach that uses surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) for the high-throughput screening of ligands for use in displacement and affinity chromatographic processes. We identified a set of commercially available organic amines and allowed them to react with SAMs presenting interchain carboxylic anhydride groups; the resulting surfaces presented ligands of interest in a background of carboxylic acid groups. We used SPR spectroscopy to determine the extent of adsorption of two model proteinslysozyme and cytochrome conto these "multimodal" surfaces and to select promising "affinity" ligands for further characterization. The attachment of selected ligands to UltraLink Biosupport resulted in beads with a significantly greater affinity for lysozyme than for cytochrome c that would be suitable for use in affinity chromatographic processes. Furthermore, we also used the screens to design "affinity displacers"small molecules that selectively retain lysozyme on chromatographic resins, while displacing cytochrome c. The combination of SPR spectroscopy and SAMs represents a powerful technique for identifying novel ligands that enable the purification of complex protein mixtures.

An affinity-based strategy for the design of selective displacers for the chromatographic separation of proteins

We describe an affinity-based strategy for designing selective protein displacers for the chromatographic purification of proteins. To design a displacer that is selective for a target protein, we attached a component with affinity for the target protein to a resin-binding component; we then tested the ability of such displacers to selectively retain the target protein on a resin relative to another protein having a similar retention time. In particular, we synthesized displacers based on biotin, which selectively retained avidin as compared to aprotinin on SP Sepharose high performance resin. In addition, we have extended this approach to develop an affinity-peptide-based displacer that discriminates between lysozyme and cytochrome c. Here, a selective displacer was designed from a lysozyme-binding peptide that had been identified and optimized previously using phage-display technology. Our results suggest a general strategy for designing highly selective affinity-based displacers by identifying molecules (e.g., peptides) that bind to a protein of interest and using an appropriate linker to attach these molecules to a moiety that binds to the stationary phase.

Displacement chromatography of proteins on hydrophobic charge induction adsorbent column

Displacement chromatography of protein mixtures is proposed on hydrophobic charge induction chromatography (HCIC). We have used an HCIC medium, MEP-Hypercel as the stationary phase and a quaternary ammonium salt, benzethonium chloride, as the displacer. It was found that the multiple interactions between proteins/displacer and the HCIC sorbent, i.e. hydrophobic interaction and charge repulsion, enabled a greater flexibility for the design of displacement processes and ease of column regeneration by adjustment of pH. The capacity factors of proteins and displacers were used to predict their performances in column displacement, and the experimental results agreed well with the prediction. An isotachic displacement train of lysozyme and alpha-chymotrypsinogen A was formed with benzethonium chloride as the displacer at pH 5.0 with good yields and purities of the two proteins. Column regeneration was efficiently achieved by charge repulsion between the displacer and the adsorbent at lower pH values (pH 3 and 4). The results indicate that the displacement chromatography on HCIC is a good alternative to traditional hydrophobic displacement chromatography.

Very Fast Electron Migrations within p-Doped Aromatic Cofacial Arrays Leading to Three-Dimensional (Toroidal) π-Delocalization

The charge-resonance phenomenon originally identified by Badger and Brocklehurst lies at the core of the basic understanding of electron movement and delocalization that is possible within p-doped aromatic (face-to-face) arrays. To this end, we now utilize a series of different aryl-donor groups (Ar) around a central platform to precisely evaluate the intramolecular electron movement among these tethered redox centers. As such, the unique charge-resonance (intervalence) absorption bands observed upon the one-electron oxidation or p-doping of various hexaarylbenzenoid arrays (Ar6C6) provide quantitative measures of the reorganization energy (lambda) and the electronic coupling element (H(ab)) that are required for the evaluation of the activation barrier (deltaG(ET)) for electron-transfer self-exchange according to Marcus-Hush theory. The extensive search for viable redox centers is considerably aided by the application of a voltammetric criterion that has led in this study to Ar = N,N-dialkyl-p-anilinyl, in which exceptionally low barriers are shown to lie in the range deltaG(ET) = 0.3-0.7 kcal mol(-1) for very fast electron hopping or peregrination around the hexagonal circuit among six equivalent Ar sites. Therefore, at transition temperatures T(t) > 0.5/R or roughly -20 degrees C, the electron-transfer dynamics become essentially barrierless since the whizzing occurs beyond the continuum of states and effectively achieves complete pi-delocalization.

Regioselective synthesis and zone selective deprotection of [60]fullerene tris-adducts with an e,e,e addition pattern

D(3h)-symmetrical tripodal tris(malonate) tethers have been used for the synthesis of [60]fullerene tris-adducts with an e,e,e addition pattern bearing topologically distinct polar and equatorial addend zones that can selectively be deprotected.

Adsorption of charged macromolecules on oppositely charged porous column materials

A family of cationic polyelectrolytes possessing defined chain lengths, narrow chain length distributions, uniform charge density, but substituents of different hydrophilicity at the quaternary ammonium group served as model compounds for adsorption studies. These studies quantitatively revealed that polymer characteristics and electrostatic parameters affect the adsorption behavior on oppositely charged porous column materials. The presence of electrostatic exclusion, in addition to size exclusion, was proved comparing molecular, electrostatic and geometrical parameters. The dominance of electrostatic effects could be concluded evaluating the relation between molecular and electrostatic dimensions. The results provide a contribution how to estimate the threshold for electrostatic exclusion from pores as a function of dimensions and experimental conditions.

Identification of Chemically Selective Displacers Using Parallel Batch Screening Experiments and Quantitative Structure Efficacy Relationship Models

Parallel batch screening experiments were carried out to examine how displacer chemistry and salt counterions affect the selectivity of batch protein displacements in anion exchange chromatographic systems. The results indicate that both salt type and displacer chemistry can have a significant impact on the amount of protein displaced. Importantly, the results indicate that, by changing the displacer, salt counterion, or both, one can induce significant selectivity changes in the relative displacement of two model proteins. This indicates that highly selective separations can be developed in ion exchange systems by the appropriate selection of displacer chemistry and salt counterion. The experimental batch screening data were also used in conjunction with various molecular descriptors to generate quantitative structure efficacy relationship (QSER) models based on a support vector machine feature selection and regression tool. The models resulted in good correlations and successful predictions for an external test set of displacers. A star plot approach was shown to be a powerful tool to aid in the interpretation of the QSER models. These results indicate that this modeling approach can be employed for the a priori prediction of displacer efficacy as well as for providing insight into displacer design and the selection of proper mobile-phase conditions for highly selective separations.