Reverse-phase HPLC peptides

Bizanek R, Manes JD, Fujinari E, Chemiluminescent nitrogen detection as a new technique for purity assessment of synthetic peptides separated by reversed-phase HPLC, Peptide. Res., 9(l) 40 44, 1996. 

Other groups have also used EC and CE to perform non-comprehensive multidimensional separations (15, 16). A three-dimensional separation was performed by Stromqvist in 1994, where size exclusion chromatography (SEC), reverse-phase HPLC, and CZE were used in an off-line manner to separate peptides (17). The most useful information gained from all of these non-comprehensive studies was knowledge of the orthogonality and compatibility of EC and CE. 

Some authors have suggested the use of fluorene polymers for this kind of chromatography. Fluorinated polymers have attracted attention due to their unique adsorption properties. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is antiadhesive, thus adsorption of hydrophobic as well as hydrophilic molecules is low. Such adsorbents possess extremely low adsorption activity and nonspecific sorption towards many compounds [109 111]. Fluorene polymers as sorbents were first suggested by Hjerten [112] in 1978 and were tested by desalting and concentration of tRN A [113]. Recently Williams et al. [114] presented a new fluorocarbon sorbent (Poly F Column, Du Pont, USA) for reversed-phase HPLC of peptides and proteins. The sorbent has 20 pm in diameter particles (pore size 30 nm, specific surface area 5 m2/g) and withstands pressure of eluent up to 135 bar. There is no limitation of pH range, however, low specific area and capacity (1.1 mg tRNA/g) and relatively low limits of working pressure do not allow the use of this sorbent for preparative chromatography. 

The stationary phase matrices used in classic column chromatography are spongy materials whose compress-ibihty hmits flow of the mobile phase. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) employs incompressible silica or alumina microbeads as the stationary phase and pressures of up to a few thousand psi. Incompressible matrices permit both high flow rates and enhanced resolution. HPLC can resolve complex mixtures of Upids or peptides whose properties differ only slightly. Reversed-phase HPLC exploits a hydrophobic stationary phase of... 

The peptides were separated by reverse-phase HPLC. N-terminus (N-ter) was obtained with the entire PEy. ... 

Nucleotides, peptides, and amino acids also differ subtly in their polarities Some are more hydro-phobic than others. Thus, separation via reverse phase HPLC is possible. A reverse phase column, such as C18 or C8, has a low- to medium-polarity stationary phase. The more hydrophobic sample components interact to a greater degree with the stationary phase, and therefore elute more slowly than the more hydrophilic components. The sample elution order is from most hydrophilic to most hydrophobic. 

Peptide sequencers automatically carry out all the reactions of the Edman degradation procedure under controlled conditions, and a typical scheme is described below. The released N-terminal derivatives are then analysed by reverse-phase HPLC. 

Reverse-phase HPLC can be used for the separation of peptides and proteins. Smaller peptides (less than 50 amino acid residues) may be satisfactorily separated on octadecylsilane (C-18) bonded phases whereas for adequate recovery of larger molecules, tetrylsilane (C-4) or octylsilane (C-8) is recommended. Porous column packing with gel permeation and reverse phase properties is usually required for proteins with relative molecular masses greater than 50 000. 

An example of a simple CZE method for peptide analysis and characterization is the one developed for protegrin IB-367.37 IB-367 is a peptide containing 17 amino acid residues that possess antimicrobial properties, and it is being developed for treatment of oral mucositis associated with aggressive cancer chemotherapy as well as other topical applications. This polycationic product was chemically synthesized using solid-phase and purified by preparative reversed-phase HPLC. IB-367 is rich in cysteine and arginine residues. 

The peptides generated by proteolysis are separated using reverse-phase HPLC to minimize mass overlap and ionization suppression caused by ion competition in the electrospray source [40]. The optimized LC gradient parameters efficiently separate peptides while minimizing loss of deuterium through back exchange with solvent. Increased sensitivity can be achieved by using capillary HPLC columns and nanoelectrospray methods [47]. 

The injector, columns and valves reside in a low temperature chamber to minimize the loss of deuterium by back exchange (Fig. 12.2). The quenched protein solution is pumped in series through a column containing an immobilized protease and a trap column to capture the peptide fragments. The gradient pump is activated following digestion and the peptides captured on the trap column are eluted and separated over an analytical reverse-phase HPLC column directly into the mass spectrometer. 

Figure 9. The effect of storage on protein and peptide composition in cooked ground beef stored in a refrigerator of 4 days (adapted from 7). Upper graph represents the size exclusion chromatography of acidic extracts of fresh, cooked, and cooked-stored beef. Lx)wer graph represents the reverse phase HPLC of peak II from the size exclusion chromatography.

On reversed-phase HPLC, the sulfones usually appear in an intermediate position between the more hydrophobic t t[CH2-S] peptide and the more polar t t[CH2—SO] sulfoxides, much as seen in the amino acid analysis by oxidation of Met.162 Unlike sulfoxides, once formed, sulfones are resistant to reduction to sulfides or sulfoxides.1[5T Incorporation of the tp[CH2—S] element and its oxidized counterparts into litorin (positions 8-9), a bombesin-like peptide, gives rise to receptor antagonists that are more potent when in the sulfoxide forms than in the sulfone form. 

The use of nonpolar chemically bonded stationary phases with a polar mobile phase is referred to as reverse-phase HPLC. This technique separates sample components according to hydrophobicity. It is widely used for the separation of all types of biomolecules, including peptides, nucleotides, carbohydrates, and derivatives of amino acids. Typical solvent systems are water-methanol, water-acetonitrile, and water-tetrahydrofiiran mixtures. Figure 3.15 shows the results of protein separation on a silica-based reverse-phase column. 

Reversed-phase HPLC is widely utilized to generate a peptide map from digested protein, and the MS online method provides rapid identification of the molecular mass of peptides. The HPLC-MS-FAB online system is a sensitive and precise method for low-MW peptides (<3000 Da) even picomol quantities can be detected. However, as the MW of the analytes increases, the ionization of peptides becomes more difficult and decreases the sensibility of the FAB-MS (112). Electrospray ionization (ESI-MS) was found to be an efficient method for the determination of molecular masses up to 200,000 Da of labile biomolecules, with a precision of better than 0.1%. Molecular weights of peptide standards and an extensive hydrolysate of whey protein were determined by the HPLC-MS-FAB online system and supported by MALDI-TOF (112). Furthermore, HPLC-MS-FAB results were compared with those of Fast Performance Liquid Chro-motography (FPLC) analysis. Mass spectrometry coupled with multidimensional automated chromatography for peptide mapping has also been developed (9f,l 12a). 

The detection of cow s milk in ewe s or goat s milk and cheese is yet another application of the HPLC analysis of peptides. Tobler et al. (125) used HPLC to examine the differences between the caseins in the milks of various species. Goat s- and cow s-milk cheese caseins were hydrolyzed with trypsin, and the peptides thus obtained were separated by reversed-phase HPLC. The chromatograms for the caseins of each species were reproducible and distinct. Subsequently,... 

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