Bovine whey fractionation based on cation-exchange chromatography

Abstract

Bovine whey proteins have potential applications in veterinary medicine, food industry and as supplements for cell culture media. A fractionation scheme for the economically interesting proteins, such as IgG, lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase, based on cation exchangers was the goal of our investigations. A chromatographic process was developed where α-lactalbumin passes through the column and separation of the desired proteins is achieved. Four different cation-exchange media (S-HyperD-F, S-Sepharose FF, Fractogel EMD SO 3 − 650 (S) and Macro-Prep High S Support) were compared in regard to their dynamic binding capacity for IgG and their different elution behaviours when sequential step gradients with NaCl buffers were applied. Peak fractions were analyzed by size-exclusion chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Lactoperoxidase activity was monitored by the oxidation of o-phenylenediamine. In order to explain the different resolution behaviours, isocratic runs with pure standards of whey proteins were performed. The k′ values were calculated and plotted against salt concentration. Fractogel EMD had the highest binding capacity for IgG, 3.7 mg/ml gel at a linear flow-rate of 100 cm/h, but the resolution was low compared to that with the other three media. S-Hyper D and S-Sepharose FF showed lower capacities, 3.3 and 3.2 mg/ml gel, respectively, but exhibited better protein resolution. These effects could be partially explained by the k′ versus salt concentration plots. The binding capacity of Macro-Prep S was considerably lower compared to that of the other resins investigated because its selectivity for whey proteins was completely different. S-Sepharose FF and S-Hyper D combine relatively high dynamic capacity for IgG and good resolution. Compared to studies with standard proteins, such as 100 mg/ml bovine serum albumin for S-Hyper D, their binding capacities were very low. Even after removal of low-molecular-mass compounds, the capacity could not be improved significantly. The running conditions (low pH) were responsible for the low protein binding capacity, since low-molecular-mass compounds in the feed do not compete with the adsorption of whey protein. The dynamic capacity did not decrease to a large extent within the range of flow-rates (100–600 cm/h) investigated. The dynamic capacity of HyperD and Fractogel was at least five times higher when pure bovine IgG was used for determination. In conclusion, S-Sepharose FF, S-Hyper D-F and Fractogel EMD SO 3 − 650 (S) are considered as successful candidates for the large-scale purification of bovine whey proteins.