Large-scale protein fractionation

The aims of protein purification, up until the 1940s, were simply academic. To then, even the basic facts of protein structure were not fully appreciated, and pure proteins were needed just to study structure and test the rival theories of the pre-DNA days. During the Second World War, an acute need for blood proteins led to development of the Cohn fractionation procedure for purification of albumin and other proteins from serum (Cohn et al., 1946). This was the inception of large-scale protein purifications for commercial purposes Cohn fractionation continues to be used to this day. 

The paper describes some applications to large scale protein fractionation using a recycling isoelectric focusing apparatus. Separation is achieved in free solution without the use of supporting media. Various alternatives for the formation of the pH gradient are discussed and results of a computer simulation are presented. 

History. Methods for the fractionation of plasma were developed as a contribution to the U.S. war effort in the 1940s (2). Following pubHcation of a seminal treatise on the physical chemistry of proteins (3), a research group was estabUshed which was subsequendy commissioned to develop a blood volume expander for the treatment of military casualties. Process methods were developed for the preparation of a stable, physiologically acceptable solution of alburnin [103218-45-7] the principal osmotic protein in blood. Eady preparations, derived from equine and bovine plasma, caused allergic reactions when tested in humans and were replaced by products obtained from human plasma (4). Process studies were stiU being carried out in the pilot-plant laboratory at Harvard in December 1941 when the small supply of experimental product was mshed to Hawaii to treat casualties at the U.S. naval base at Pead Harbor. On January 5, 1942 the decision was made to embark on large-scale manufacture at a number of U.S. pharmaceutical plants (4,5). 

Enriched subcellular compartments can be analyzed by MS/MS to determine their constituent proteins. One advantage of analysis of different cellular fractions is pre-analytical simplification that offers rewarding yields in dealing with the proteins identified in large-scale MS experiments. One of the major initiatives of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) is the comprehensive characterization of the complete subproteome of each cell type. 

Elimination of Cellulases from Xylanases. Classical methods of protein fractionation can be used for to separate cellulases and xylanases on a large scale only when they differ considerably in molecular weight or isoelectric point. The Tricho-derma harzianum enzymes were separated by ultrafiltration because the xylanase was smaller and passed through the membrane into the ultrafiltrate 18). Fractional precipitation with organic solvents is another possibility (7). 

Forsum, E., Hambraeus, L. and Siddiqi, I. H. 1974. Large-scale fractionation of whey protein concentrates. J. Dairy Sci. 57, 659-664. 

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