Repulsive van der Waals Forces. II. Mechanism of Hydrophobic Chromatography

Deposit formation on heated surfaces: effect of interface energetics

Deposit formation was measured in a model laboratory plant in which whole milk was in contact with a heated surface at 100 °C for 1 h. The effect of the interfacial properties of various poly mer-coated surfaces on the amount and the adhesion strength of deposit was determined. The nature of the surface influenced the formation of deposit only slightly, but had a large effect on its adhesion strength. From correlation analysis, the polar contribution to surface energywas identified as the main factor influencing the deposit adhesion strength. These results suggest that the type of interactions at the surface govern the ease of removal of deposit.

Estimation of casein micelles' surface energy by means of contact angle measurements

The surface energies of highly hydrated casein micelle layers isolated from variously pretreated skim milks have been determined by means of contact angle measurements. The long range Lifshitz-Van der Waals (LW) and the short range hydrogen bonding (SR) components of surface energy were determined using α-bromonaphthalene and water for contact angle measurements. Casein micelles isolated from untreated and heat treated milks showed similar surface energy values of about 63·5 mJ.m-2 with an LW component of 19·2 mJ.m-2 and an SR component of 44·3 mJ.m-2. The calculated attraction potential energy was − 0·7 mJ.m-2. Casein micelles isolated from renneted milk showed a surface energy of 33·0 mJ.m-2 with an LW component of 30·7 mJ.m-2 and an SR component of 2·3 mJ.m-2. The attraction potential energy of renneted micelles was nearly two orders of magnitude higher than those of micelles from other milks ( − 63·3 mJ.m-2). The SR component of interfacial energy accounted for 98% of this attraction potential. The importance of attractive forces in relation to casein micelle stability is discussed.

Acetylsalicylic acid loaded poly(vinyl alcohol) hemodialysis membranes: effect of drug release on blood compatibility and permeability

Membranes developed from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) have superior permeability because of the highly hydrophilic character of PVA. However, its blood compatibility needs to be further improved. For this we have developed acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, aspirin) loaded PVA membranes. It seems that the slow release of aspirin from the membrane provides a surface concentration of aspirin sufficient for partially inhibiting platelet adhesion. PVA membrane with 531 micrograms cm-2 of ASA loaded, may be selected for hemodialysis applications. This may help to reduce the amount of heparin infused during hemodialysis, thereby reducing the side-effects associated with the systemic administration of heparin.

Regeneration of immunosorbent surfaces used in clinical, industrial and environmental biosensors. Role of covalent and non-covalent interactions

The durability and regeneration of antibodies immobilized to commercial immunosorbents were investigated by monitoring Ag-Ab dissociation. Solutions consisting of 0.01 M hydrochloric acid (HCl), 10% propionic acid, 50% ethylene glycol and 10% SDS in 6 M urea were used in the evaluation of antigen dissociation from antibody covalently immobilized to glass and polystyrene beads, microtiter plates and Immobilon filters. RAH-IgG, used as a model antibody, bound strongly to all covalent surfaces. However, on adsorption to Nunc-1 microtiter plates, 25-60% of RAH-IgG was removed by all dissociating solutions. Covalent binding to Sanger beads was weakest relative to other covalent surfaces, exhibiting 30% and 65% detachment with ethylene glycol and SDS in urea, respectively. Although all four solutions dissociated antigen from surface-bound antibody, HCl and propionic acid were more effective on most surfaces. The antibody remained functional following antigen dissociation and reassociated to nearly 100% on all surfaces except Sanger beads and Nunc-1 microtiter plates. This study was initiated to evaluate regeneration and reuse of microelisa plates and emerging biosensors as a means of reducing routine laboratory analysis costs. Data are presented to demonstrate the reusability of microtiter plates in ELISAs following antigen dissociation from covalently bound antibody.

Protein adsorption to polymer particles: role of surface properties

Adsorption isotherms of four plasma proteins (fibrinogen, IgG, human serum albumin, and bovine serum albumin) using four different types of small particles as substrates (siliconized glass, Teflon, polyvinylchloride, and Nylon-6,6) are reported. The suspending liquid medium was phosphate-buffered saline, with a surface tension higher than that of any of the proteins. In keeping with the thermodynamic expectations for these systems, protein adsorption decreases for all solids in sequence from fibrinogen (the most hydrophobic) to IgG, human serum albumin, and bovine serum albumin (the most hydrophilic). Furthermore, the extent of protein adsorption also decreases from the low surface tension (hydrophobic) to the higher surface tension solids, again as expected on thermodynamic grounds. There is one minor yet interesting exception to the thermodynamic pattern: In spite of the slightly lower surface tension of siliconized glass, the extent of protein adsorption is slightly higher to Teflon than to siliconized glass. This result is attributed to the theoretically well known phenomenon of "screening."

A radiochemical study of irreversible adsorption of proteins on reversed-phase chromatographic packing materials

A radiochemical study of the irreversible adsorption of proteins on commercial reversed-phase HPLC packing materials is reported. The conditions of study are similar to those used in HPLC separation of protein. The effects of the amount and contact time of two proteins, ovalbumin and cytochrome c, are reported. Additional results include the effect of column pretreatment with protein, silanophilic mobile-phase blocking agent, and type of packing material on the extent of irreversible adsorption. The loss process is shown to be at least biphasic and the mechanisms of loss distinct for different proteins.

Mechanism of protein hydrophobic chromatography. Protein unfolding and its contribution to effective hydrophobicity

Several different monomeric proteins with either one or two domains were used to study the effect of protein unfolding on effective hydrophobicity of proteins. Protein unfolding was inhibited by cross-linking with either toluene di-isocyanate or glutaraldehyde. The native enzyme was much more readily bound to the hydrophobic resin than the cross-linked species. The ligand, 3-phosphoglycerate, significantly decreased the amount of phosphoglycerate kinase able to bind to octyl-Sepharose. Sucrose also caused a statistically significant decrease in protein binding to the hydrophobic resin. These studies support the concept that the degree of protein unfolding influences effective hydrophobicity as measured by retention on octyl-Sepharose.

Hydrophobic interaction between DNP-HSA and different tissue structures in vivo assessed by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy

Circulating dinitrophenylated human serum albumin (DNP-HSA) was shown by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy to adhere to non-parenchymal liver cells and capillaries of striated muscle in mice. The DNP-HSA at these sites could be removed by surface-tension-lowering agents such as Triton X-100 and ethylene glycol. The adherence of DNP-HSA to white blood cells in vitro was inhibited in the presence of 0.3 M ethylene glycol. The findings support the hypothesis that hydrophobic interaction with different tissue structures may be important for the fate of circulating antigens and immune complexes. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy offers a simple means of checking the role of hydrophobic bonding for the tissue adherence of various substances in vivo.

Determination of the Surface tension of proteins. I. Surface tension of native serum proteins in aqueous media

The desorption patterns of serum proteins in hydrophobic chromatography suggest that serum proteins that remain immersed in an aqueous medium and do not become in a protein-air interface are very hydrophilic. Contact angle measurements on fairly thick layers of hydrated serum proteins, formed on ultrafiltration membranes, yield surface tensions that correlate well with the degree of hydrophilicity derived from desorption data obtained by hydrophobic chromatography. For further confirmation the absorptivity of four human serum proteins was measured with respect to surfaces of different polymers of various surface tensions, for solution in aqueous solvents of different surface tensions. The surface tension of the solvent from which a dissolved protein adsorbs to precisely the same extent onto all solid substrates (regardless of their surface tensions) is equal to the surface tension of that protein. The surface tensions found by the contact angle (first value given) and by the protein adsorption methods (second value given) were. in erg/cm2; alpha 2-macroglobulin, 71.0, 71.0; serum albumin, 70.5, 70.2; immunoglobulin M, 69.5, 69.4; immunoglobulin G, 67.4, 67.7.

Determination of surface tensions of proteins. II. Surface tension of serum albumin, altered at the protein-air interface

Serum albumin, which itself has a surface tension of congruent to 70.3 erg/cm2, when dissolved in water lowers the surface tension of water from 72.5 to congruent to 50 erg/cm2, as measured by a variety of means, including the pendant drop, the Wilhelmy plate and the platinum ring methods. Equally low and even lower surface tensions are found with the contact angle method, on a thin layer of albumin that had been adsorbed onto a low energy surface and subsequently exposed to air. Surface tensions of drops of albumin solutions varying in concentration from 0.01 to 5.5% (w/v) yielded, with a contact angle method, values that only varied between 67 and 61 erg/cm2. With the pendant drop, the Wilhelmy plate and the platinum ring methods, one essentially measures the surface tension at the air-liquid interface, at which proteins tend to adsorb, and where reversible or irreversible reorientation can be expected. The same holds for a thin layer of protein adsorbed onto a low energy surface, exposed to air. Thus, when through the very act of surface tension measurement, or after adsorbing protein onto a substrate, protein is exposed at the air-liquid interface, it apparently loses the pronounced hydrophilicity characteristic of its native hydrated state and manifests through reorientation a much more hydrophobic tertiary configuration.

Cell surface energy, contact angles and phase partition. I. Lymphocytic cell lines in biphasic aqueous mixtures

The surface energy of cells is the quantity which dominates certain physical interactions of cells such as adhesion to hydrophobic surfaces and phagocytosis. A linear relationship is derived relating the equilibrium constant obtained from phase partition in liquid-liquid systems with the surface energy difference obtained from contact-angle measurements. Using biphasic mixtures of Dextran and poly(ethylene glycol) in a medium of constant salt composition the expression is confirmed for transformed lymphocytic cell lines. The results demonstrate the importance of van der Waals' interactions in the phase-partition process, that phase partition can be used as a direct measure of cell surface hydrophobicity, and that the equilibrium constant of phase partition is directly related to the difference in the surface energy of the partitioned particle between the two phases.

Large scale purification of human fibroblast interferon

Human fibroblast interferon was partially purified, about 4,000-fold, on a chromatographic tandem of columns: concanavalin A-agarose leads to phenyl-agarose, to a specific activity of ca 4 x 10(7). The overall recovery of interferon activity was ca 60%.