Immobilized Stationary Phases for Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography of Proteins

Abstract

Immobilized stationary phases for hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) of proteins are prepared by coating macroporous silica Daisogel of different porosity with hydrophobized cellulose derivatives. The polymer adsorbed on the silica surface afterwards was cross-linked with bifunctional compounds. A uniform polymer nanocoating was indicated using the nitrogen gas adsorption method BET and scanning electron microscopy. The absence of non-specific protein sorption of the synthesized adsorbents shows that the developed polymeric coating isolates silica surface from contact with the sorbate. The retention data of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in the HIC mode on different synthesized adsorbents were evaluated. It was shown that sorption capacity of such phases may vary over a wide range and depends mainly on the substitution degree of the immobilized polymer. The dynamic sorption capacity of BSA was up to 63 mg mL⁻¹. The results proved that the new stationary phases have significant promise for the separation and purification of proteins in the HIC mode.