Fast cation-exchange separation of proteins in a plastic microcapillary disc

A novel disposable adsorbent material for fast cation-exchange separation of proteins was developed based on plastic microcapillary films (MCFs). A MCF containing 19 parallel microcapillaries, each with a mean internal diameter of 142μm, was prepared using a melt extrusion process from an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH). The MCF was surface functionalised to produce a cation-exchange adsorbent (herein referred as MCF-EVOH-SP). The dynamic binding capacity of the new MCF-EVOH-SP material was experimentally determined by frontal analysis using pure protein solutions in a standard liquid chromatography instrument for a range of superficial flow velocities, u =5.5-27.7cms . The mean dynamic binding capacity for hen-egg lysozyme was found to be approximately 100μg for a 5m length film, giving a ligand binding density of 413ngcm . The dynamic binding capacity did not vary significantly over the range of u tested. The application of this novel material to subtractive chromatography was demonstrated for anionic BSA and cationic lysozyme at pH 7.2. The chromatographic separation of two cationic proteins, lysozyme and cytochrome-c, was also performed with a view to applying this technology to the analysis or purification of proteins. Future applications might include separation based on anion exchange and other modes of adsorption. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.