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Biochemistry Laboratory Manual
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Extraction and Purification of Lysozyme from Hen Eggs - Background
Composed of various experiments performed over a span of several weeks, the initial experiments in characterizing lysozyme will be devoted to the protein’s extraction through dialysis and purification by ion-exchange chromatography.
Whether referring to dialysis in the medical or biochemical sense, both processes depend on the diffusion of solute particles. Focusing on the biochemical technique, this process is typically achieved by isolating a solution of interest inside semi-permeable dialysis tubing and then placing it in either de-ionized water or a particular buffer. Over time, small solute particles, molecules with diameters less than the pores of the tubing like H2O and NaCl, will pass across the membrane in the direction of decreasing concentration and reach equilibrium, while larger particles like DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides are retained as shown in the figure. Though this technique is unable to distinguish between macromolecules, it is particularly useful in separating large molecules from smaller ones. Furthermore, due to the ability of small solute particles to freely move in and out of the surrounding medium, dialysis can be repeated so that the original solvent may be replaced with an entirely different medium.
Dialysis I
Accompanied by an increase in entropy, the diffusion of solute particles down a concentration gradient (i.e. from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration) is thermodynamically favorable. Still, diffusion is a completely random process, and thus dependent upon the square of the distance a solute molecule must diffuse. For example, if on average it takes one second for a solute molecule to diffuse only one centimeter, that same particle would take 25 seconds to diffuse 5-cm. Diffusion is also affected by a solution’s viscosity as solute particles in highly viscous mediums will exhibit slower diffusion rates than the same particles in mediums with lower viscosities.
Lysozyme is a positively charged, basic protein under a reasonably neutral pH. In order to maintain this characteristic for ion-exchange chromatography, we will dialyze against a tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) buffer. An effective buffer over a pH range of ~6.5 to 9.7, Tris is the most commonly used buffer in biological research because it is the only inexpensive compound with a pKa in the slightly alkaline pH range. The majority of primary amines have pKa values greater than 9.0, but due to the strong electron withdrawing power of the three hydroxyl groups present on the methylene substitutents of Tris, the pKa of this buffer is ~8.0 at 25oC and optimal for our protein.
In a more general sense, dialyzing against a buffer is advantageous for a variety of reasons. Other than controlling both the salt concentration and pH, and therefore protecting our protein from denaturation, dialysis is often preformed against a buffer to prepare for the next step. Dialyzing against a buffer therefore not only removes the salt from our solution and prevents denaturation, but places the protein in the buffer needed for the next step in an experiment.
The last step in our extraction of lysozyme is centrifugation. During dialysis, some biological molecules (lipids, carbohydrates, etc.) will precipitate out of solution, and if these particles are not removed there is a chance they may interfere with the next step. In particular for our experiment, if the precipitates are not removed before ion-exchange there is a chance that they may clog the column and prevent the separation from working effectively. Thus, we must centrifuge our sample prior to this step in order to eliminate any potential risk.
Once the smaller solute molecules have been removed from our sample, we can then begin to separate the larger molecules by a form of ion-exchange chromatography. Ion-exchange is a separation technique utilized for nearly all kinds of charged molecules including large proteins, nucleotides, and even amino acids. The principle behind this technique is based on Coulombic interactions between the sample and the matrix. Specifically, the matrix, which is most commonly cellulose- and agarose-based resin, is coated with ionic functional groups capable of interacting with molecules exhibiting groups of opposing charges.
Overall, there are two major types of ion-exchange: (1) cation-exchange; and (2) anion-exchange. In cation-exchange, the matrix is coated with negatively charged functional groups (i.e. carboxymethyl (CM); —CH2COO-) in order to retain cations, while positively charged groups are utilized to retain anions (i.e. diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) (—CH2CH2NH(CH2CH3)2+). In this portion of the experiment we will be utilizing the cation-exchanger CM-Sephadex-25 which will effectively separate the positively charged lysozyme from molecules of negative and neutral charge.
Dialysis II
After construction of your column is complete, you will allow a specific volume of your sample to infiltrate the column bed. At this point, all of the positively charged macromolecules will interact with the stationary phase while the neutrally and negatively charged molecules will pass through. This is facilitated by washing the column with an eluant, which moves those proteins with relatively low affinity for the matrix through the column faster than those interacting with the matrix. Overall, the affinity of a specific protein for the matrix depends upon the pH of solution as well as the presence of ions capable of competing for matrix binding.
The final step in this process is to elute those proteins interacting with the matrix. Elution is generally accomplished in one of two ways (as alluded to in the previous paragraph): (1) either by changing the pH of the mobile phase; or (2) its salt concentration. Recalling that the pH of a solution can affect the overall charge of a molecule in solution, a protein that has an initial positive charge, and interacts with the matrix, can be eluted from the column by an increase in pH. The increase in pH will alter the overall charge of the macromolecule and therefore lower its affinity for the stationary phase causing it to elute from the column. One downside to a pH gradient is the difficulty in controlling it, therefore in our experiment we will utilize a linear salt gradient.
Elution by changing the salt concentration of the mobile phase, and therefore its ionic strength, is a more subtle effect. By starting with a mobile phase of minimal salt concentration, the positively charged lysozyme is preferred by the matrix. However, as the concentration of salt in our buffer is increased, the matrix will begin to decrease its affinity for the lysozyme preferring to interact with the salt. As a result, the lysozyme will begin to elute from the column so that fractions can be collected and assayed in the next series of experiments.