Retention Characteristics of Various Proteins in Flow Field-Flow Fractionation : Effects of pH, Ionic Strength, and Denaturation

摘要

The study investigated the effect of carrier composition (ionic strength and pH) on the retention of various proteins in flow field-flow fractionation (Flow FFF) as well as the conformational change of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) with urea concentration, storage time and temperature. The study found that the retention of protein in Flow FFF increased with the ionic strength of the carrier liquid. Most proteins were well solubilized at pH = 7-8. The hydrodynamic diameters obtained from Flow FFF retention data agree well with theoretical values. The retention increased and the peak shape became distorted at extreme pH conditions of the carrier solution. The selected carrier composition for comparison between the literature value of proteins was 0.05 M tris buffer solution with a pH of 8. Storing BSA at 4 【2∩ over a period of three months resulted in slow dimerization. Also, in case of the storage of BSA at 37 【5∩ for one week, the retention of both BSA monomer and dimer increased with the urea concentration. Finally, the structural composition of specific enzymes: malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MCDC) and malonyl-CoA synthesis (MCS) was determined by using Flow FFF at specific carrier solutions. The molecular weight of the natural MCDC was determined to be 208 kDa, which means it is a homotetramer, while that of the MCS was determined to be 47 kDa, which means it is a monomer.