Multistep Purification Protocol Research Articles

Extracellular Vesicle Isolation by a Tangential-Flow Filtration-Based Large-Scale Purification Method.

Extracellular vesicle (EV) isolation from conditioned cell culture medium has been a challenging topic. It is particularly difficult to obtain pure and intact EVs at a large scale. The commonly used methods such as differential centrifugation, ultracentrifugation, size exclusion chromatography, polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation, filtration, and affinity-based purification each have their advantages and limitations. Here, we present a tangential-flow filtration (TFF) based, multi-step purification protocol that combines filtration, PEG precipitation, and Capto Core 700 multimodal chromatography (MMC) to isolate EVs at high purity from large volumes of cell culture conditioned medium. Inserting the TFF step before PEG precipitation removes proteins, which may aggregate in subsequent steps and co-purify with EVs.

A solution to the long-standing problem of actin expression and purification

Actin is the most abundant protein in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and interacts with hundreds of proteins to perform essential functions, including cell motility and cytokinesis. Numerous diseases are caused by mutations in actin, but studying the biochemistry of actin mutants is difficult without a reliable method to obtain recombinant actin. Moreover, biochemical studies have typically used tissue-purified α-actin, whereas humans express six isoforms that are nearly identical but perform specialized functions and are difficult to obtain in isolation from natural sources. Here, we describe a solution to the problem of actin expression and purification. We obtain high yields of actin isoforms in human Expi293F cells. Experiments along the multistep purification protocol demonstrate the removal of endogenous actin and the functional integrity of recombinant actin isoforms. Proteomics analysis of endogenous vs. recombinant actin isoforms confirms the presence of native posttranslational modifications, including N-terminal acetylation achieved after affinity-tag removal using the actin-specific enzyme Naa80. The method described facilitates studies of actin under fully native conditions to determine differences among isoforms and the effects of disease-causing mutations that occur in all six isoforms.

A new practical purification method for type D Clostridium perfringens Epsilon toxin by Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and Ultrafiltration (UF)

BACKGROUND: The high potential toxicity of epsilon toxin (Etx) produced by Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) type D, has made it the third most lethal clostridial toxin behind botulinum and tetanus, therefore, having a pure and concentrated Etx is very important. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to purify Etx as pure as possible with an applicable, cost-effective, multistep purification protocol with the lowest and shortest time. METHODS: The purification of the Etx was carried out in multiple consecutive steps; ammonium sulfate precipitation, dialysis, size exclusion chromatography by G50, two concentration steps, and ultrafiltration. The Etx activity after different steps was evaluated by the minimum lethal dose (MLD) calculation, according to the standard operating procedure. Toxin quantification was determined using Lowry technique, and its presence and specificity was tracked to identify pure Etx by SDS- PAGE and western blotting. Finally, the purity of Etx was evaluated by capillary electrophoresis. RESULTS: The purified Etx formed a single band of about 32.9 kDa in SDS-PAGE and blotting. The pure Etx concentration was calculated to be 3.9 mg/ml and its MLD value was the dilution of 1/24000 after the ultrafiltration step. The presented purification processes to purify Etx resulted in ~ 87-fold concentration and 88.6% purity. CONCLUSIONS: Due to this high Etx purity, the processes used in this study can provide the technical knowledge of toxin production in a larger industrial scale that can be used in development of clostridial toxoid vaccines, as well as quality control and/or diagnostic tests.

Towards standardized purification of bacterial magnetic nanoparticles for future in vivo applications

Bacterial magnetosomes (MS) are well-defined membrane-enveloped single-domain iron oxide (magnetite) nanoparticles, which are susceptible to genetic and chemical engineering. Additionally, the possibility to manipulate these particles by external magnetic fields facilitates their application in biomedicine and biotechnology, e.g. as magnetic resonance imaging probes or for drug delivery purposes. However, current purification protocols are poorly characterized, thereby hampering standardized and reproducible magnetosome production and thus, reliable testing for in vivo applications. In that context, the establishment of reproducible particle isolation procedures as well as the identification of high quality control parameters and the evaluation of potential cytotoxic effects of purified particles are of major importance. In this study, we characterize a multi-step purification protocol for MS with regard to purity, iron content, size and polydispersity of magnetite particles. In addition, we address potential cytotoxic effects of isolated MS when incubated with mammalian cells. Overall, we provide a detailed overview of the process-structure relationship during the isolation of MS and thus, identify prerequisites for high-yield MS production and their future application in the biomedical and biotechnological field. Statement of SignificanceMagnetic nanoparticles are of increasing interest for a variety of biomedical and biotechnological applications. Due to their unprecedented material characteristics, bacterial magnetosomes represent a promising alternative to chemically synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles. As applications require well-defined, highly purified and fully characterized nanoparticles, reliable protocols are necessary for efficient and reproducible magnetosome isolation. In our study, we evaluate an improved magnetosome extraction procedure and monitor quality parameters such as particle size distribution, membrane integrity and purity of the suspension by a combination of physicochemical and biochemical methods. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the isolated magnetosomes is assessed using different cell lines. In summary, our study helps to establish prerequisites for many real-world applications of magnetosomes in the field of biotechnology and biomedicine.

Rice Bran Protein as a Potent Source of Antimelanogenic Peptides with Tyrosinase Inhibitory Activity.

Rice (Oryza sativa) is consumed as a staple food globally, and rice bran, the byproduct, is an unused biomass that is ultimately discarded as waste. Thus, in the present study, a technique for producing tyrosinase inhibitory peptides from rice bran protein (RBP) was developed. Simultaneous treatment of RBP with chymotrypsin and trypsin produced numerous peptides. Subsequently, six tyrosinase inhibitory peptides were isolated from the hydrolysate fractions in a multistep purification protocol, and their amino acid sequences were determined. Three of these peptides had a C-terminal tyrosine residue and exhibited significant inhibitory effects against tyrosinase-mediated monophenolase reactions. Furthermore, peptide CT-2 (Leu-Gln-Pro-Ser-His-Tyr) potently inhibited melanogenesis in mouse B16 melanoma cells without causing cytotoxicity, suggesting the potential of CT-2 as an agent for melanin-related skin disorder treatment. The present data indicate that RBP is a potent source of tyrosinase inhibitory peptides and that simultaneous treatment of RBP with chymotrypsin and trypsin efficiently produces these peptides.

Quantification of Se-Methylselenocysteine and Its γ-Glutamyl Derivative from Naturally Se-Enriched Green Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris vulgaris) After HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS and Orbitrap MS n -Based Identification

Orthogonal liquid chromatographic (ion exchange, reversed phase, and ion pairing) and mass spectrometric [electrospray ionization (ESI)-TOF-MS, ESI-Orbitrap MS, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)] methods were addressed to identify and quantify selenium species from a naturally Se-enriched green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris vulgaris) sample after proteolytic digestion. While selenomethionine (10.1 mg/kg as Se) and selenate (9.5 mg/kg as Se) could be quantified in a straightforward way by anion exchange LC-ICP-MS technique, a multistep purification protocol was required to identify Se-methylselenocysteine and γ-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine in an unambiguous way prior to quantification by using either in-source fragmentation (LC-ESI-TOF-MS) or collision-induced dissociation (LC-ESI-Orbitrap MS). Finally, Se-methylselenocysteine (2.6 mg/kg as Se) and γ-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine (1.2 mg/kg as Se) could contribute to the overall selenium recovery of 72 %. This sample is the first of the Faboideae subfamily and Phaseolus ssp. to be speciated to such an extent for selenium including γ-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine, a highly potential selenium species, which makes this bean material an ideal candidate for functional food purposes.

Design, synthesis, and assessment of a de novo affinity adsorbent for the purification of recombinant human erythropoietin

This work describes the assessment of a de novo synthetic affinity ligand for recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO), based on the multicomponent Ugi reaction. Four Ugi ligands were designed based on the X-ray crystallographic structure of the complex between human erythropoietin and site 1 of its cell-surface receptor (EPObp)2 ; screening of the ligands with pure rHuEPO samples identified a lead ligand (A9C10I8) immobilized on aldehyde-functionalized agarose beads, which was able to bind and elute erythropoietin, as determined by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analyses. Furthermore, small-scale affinity chromatography performed on the immobilized adsorbent showed its ability to isolate rHuEPO from a spiked mammalian cell supernatant with a purity of ∼80%, as estimated with gel densitometry. This approach could lead to the development of a cost-effective downstream process for rHuEPO, as an alternative to the current multi-step purification protocols.

A Detailed Study of the (Electro)chemical Behavior of Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide Based Ionic Liquids at Different Purification Steps

AbstractA systematic investigation of the major impurities content as well as of their effect on the electrochemical behavior of synthesized N‐butyl‐N‐methylpyrrolidinium (Py1.4), N‐(2‐methoxyethyl)‐N‐methylpyrrolidinium (Py1.102) and 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium (bmim) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide has been carried out and the efficacy of an optimized multistep purification protocol for obtaining ILs suitable for electrochemical applications has been verified.

Purification of a Lectin from M. rubra Leaves Using Immobilized Metal Ion Affinity Chromatography and Its Characterization

Lectins represent a heterogeneous group of proteins/glycoproteins with unique carbohydrate specificity, with wide range of biomedical applications. The multi-step purification protocols generally used for purification of lectin result in a significant reduction in the final yield and activity. In the present study, Morus rubra lectin (MRL) was purified to homogeneity from the leaves using a single-step immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) procedure. The approximate molecular weight of purified MRL resolved as a single band on SDS-PAGE was 52kDa. Final percentage yield of purified lectin by IMAC was calculated as 74.7%. Purified MRL was specific to three sugars, galactose, D-galactosamine and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, and rendered haemagglutination (HA) activity towards different human blood group RBCs. MRL showed stability over a wide range of temperature (up to 80°C) and pH (4-11). Chelation of the lectin with EDTA did not alter HA which indicates that metal ion is not required for activity. In the presence of Fe(2+), Ca(2+), Zn(2+), Ni(2+), Mn(2+), Na(+) and K(+), HA activity was reduced to 50%, whereas the presence of trivalent metal ions (Fe3(+) and Al(3+)) and Cu(2+) did not affect the activity. In the presence of Mg(2+) and Hg(2+), only 25% of HA activity remained.

Horse Liver Alcohol Dehydrogenase: New Perspectives for an Old Enzyme

The EE subunit of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (HLADH-EE) has been subcloned in pRSETb vector to generate a fusion His-tag protein. The migration from a multistep purification protocol for this well-known enzyme to a single-step has been successfully achieved. Several adjustments to the traditional purification procedure for His-tag proteins have been made to retain protein activity. A full characterization of the fusion enzyme has been carried out and compared with the native one. The K (m) for EtOH, NAD and NADH in the His-tag version of HLADH are in line with the ones reported in literature for the native enzyme. A shift in optimal pH activity is also observed. The enzyme retains the same stability and quaternary structure as the wild type and can therefore be easily used instead of the native HLADH for biotechnological applications.

Production of milligram quantities of affinity tagged-proteins using automated multistep chromatographic purification

A new chromatography system, ÄKTAxpress (GE Healthcare, Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden) has been designed to meet the demand for high-throughput purification of proteins in structural genomics and drug discovery. The system offers a number of automated multistep purification protocols for affinity-tagged proteins. All protocols start with affinity chromatography followed by combinations of desalting, ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. As an option, tag removal can be included in the purification protocols. Up to 16 proteins can be purified per day and the yield can be as high as 50 mg of each protein at >90% purity. To highlight the versatility of the system, this paper presents several case studies; purifications of hexahistidine- and glutathione S-transferase-tagged proteins using different protocols, automated on-column tag cleavage and optimization studies for a hexahistidine-tagged kinase.

Transforming growth factor e: amino acid analysis and partial amino acid sequence.

Our previous studies have demonstrated that transforming growth factor e (TGFe) acts as a mitogen for epithelial and fibroblastic cells in both monolayer and soft agar. We have also identified TGFe in both normal and neoplastic tissues of mostly epithelial origin, and in body fluids. In this study we report on the purification of TGFe to homogeneity from bovine kidney using a multistep purification protocol which utilizes high performance electrophoresis chromatography in the final step. Amino acid analysis of TGFe revealed high content of proline, aspartate and glutamate. Examination of partial amino acid sequence indicated no similarity to other, already characterized, growth factors.