Enzyme purification with aqueous two-phase systems: comparison between systems composed of pure polymers and systems composed of crude polymers

Microscopic evaluation of aqueous two-phase system emulsion characteristics enables rapid determination of critical polymer concentrations for solution micropatterning

Aqueous two-phase systems have emerged as valuable tools for microscale analysis of cell growth and many other biotechnology applications. The most critical step in developing an aqueous two-phase system for a specific application is identifying the critical concentrations at which the polymer solutions phase-separate. Current techniques for determining these critical concentrations rely on laborious methods, highly specialized assays or computational methods that make this step difficult for non-specialists. To overcome these limitations, we present a simplified assay that uses only readily accessible laboratory instruments and consumables (e.g., multichannel micropipettes, 96-well plates and a simple compound microscope) to determine the critical concentrations of aqueous two-phase system-forming polymers. We demonstrate that formulations selected from phase diagrams that describe these critical concentrations can be applied for solution micropatterning of cells.

Optimization of serine protease purification from mango (Mangifera indica cv. Chokanan) peel in polyethylene glycol/dextran aqueous two phase system

Mango peel is a good source of protease but remains an industrial waste. This study focuses on the optimization of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/dextran-based aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) to purify serine protease from mango peel. The activity of serine protease in different phase systems was studied and then the possible relationship between the purification variables, namely polyethylene glycol molecular weight (PEG, 4000–12,000 g·mol⁻¹), tie line length (−3.42–35.27%), NaCl (−2.5–11.5%) and pH (4.5–10.5) on the enzymatic properties of purified enzyme was investigated. The most significant effect of PEG was on the efficiency of serine protease purification. Also, there was a significant increase in the partition coefficient with the addition of 4.5% of NaCl to the system. This could be due to the high hydrophobicity of serine protease compared to protein contaminates. The optimum conditions to achieve high partition coefficient (84.2) purification factor (14.37) and yield (97.3%) of serine protease were obtained in the presence of 8000 g·mol⁻¹ of PEG, 17.2% of tie line length and 4.5% of NaCl at pH 7.5. The enzymatic properties of purified serine protease using PEG/dextran ATPS showed that the enzyme could be purified at a high purification factor and yield with easy scale-up and fast processing.

Pectinases partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems: An integration of the systems poly(ethylene glycol)crude dextran and poly(ethylene glycol)ammonium sulphate

The partitioning of pectinases in the poly(ethylene glucol)4000/ammonium sulpohate system was studied and also its application for enzymes extraction from the top phase of the poly(ethylene glucol)4000/crude dextran system. Almost complete one-sided partition of endo-pectinase and exo-pectinase to the bottom phase of the polymer/salt system was achieved at a tie-line length of 37.16 %. The concentration factors were 1.73 and 3.25, respectively. The highest total endo- and exo-pectinase yields (72.41 % and 69.46 % respectively) were obtained by integration of the polymer/polymer system at a tie-line of 8.61 % and a high phase volume ratio and the polymer/salt system at a tie-line of 30.23%and a low phase volume ratio. Integration of the partitioning at a high tie-line length in the polymer/polimer and a low tie-line length in the polymer/salt system resulted in a total concentration factor of 1.5 and a purification of 1.66 fold for exo-pectinase. The addition of phosphate to this integrated system improved the total concentration factor and purification fold of the activity to 1.73 and 2.14, respectively.

Cutinase purification on poly(ethylene glycol)-hydroxypropyl starch aqueous two-phase systems

The partition behaviour of cutinase on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-hydroxypropyl starch aqueous two-phase systems was characterized. The effect of molecular mass of PEG, the pH of the system and tie-line length on cutinase partition coefficient and cutinase yield to the top phase was investigated for systems prepared with a purified hydroxypropyl starch (Reppal PES 100) and a crude one (HPS). The effect of the presence of different salts, such as sodium chloride, sodium sulphate and ammonium sulphate, on cutinase partition was also studied. The results lead to the conclusion that aqueous two-phase systems composed of PEG and hydroxypropyl starch are not efficient in the purification of cutinase. In the majority of cases, the partition coefficients were very close to 1, with pH being the factor which affects most cutinase partition. Partition coefficients were significantly improved when salts were added to the systems. For PEG 4000-Reppal PES 100 [at pH 4.0; 0.5 M (NH4)2SO4], the partition coefficient for cutinase was 3.7, while a value of 12 was obtained for PEG 4000-HPS (at pH 4.0; 1 M NaCl). An isoelectric point (pI) of 7.8 was confirmed for cutinase by constructing a cross partition graphic from the results obtained in the experiments with different salts.