Re: hygroscopic peptide purification

Gautam Sarath (gsarath@unlinfo.unl.edu)
Wed, 29 Jul 1998 12:30:29 -0500 (CDT)

>Hai Everyone
>
> I have problem and looking forward for the solution. Can any one
>kindly help me?
>
> I have a 14 residue peptide which is highly hygroscopic. I want
>to run the HPLC and purify it. It is insoluble in many solvents I tried
>like ch3cn, dmso, h2o, isopropanol and the various ratios of their
>mixtures. I also tried adding 1% TFA. I am unsuccessful.
>
> It goes in CH3CN and water solution with TFA. Solubility
>increases with addition of more TFA. Is it safe to use TFA and run HPLC
>column? or is there any other solution?
>
> Please advise.
>
> Thanks
> suryaprakash
>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Dr. N. suryaprakash
>department of chemistry
>Ben Gurion University of the Negev
>Beer Sheva
>Israel
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suryaprakash: you could use TFA, better yet try and see if the peptide is
soluble in acetic acid, try upto 20 %. Acetic acid will give you a huge
peak with the void volume. The question is does your peptide bind to C-18
under the ususal conditions of operation (ie H2O/TFA/MeCN). It surprises
me too that you an insoluble hygroscopic peptide. How was it made and what
might the crude material contain. Under some conditions of deblocking,
there are enough scavengers/other stuff present that yields a gelatinous
mess. My other suggestion would be to relyophilize this peptide from
aqueous acetic acid or TFA and observe the results, I expect that you have
already tried out a few of these. Is your peptide soluble in buffer such
as tris or dilute ammonium hydroxide? this could give you a partailly pure
peptide by binding to a C-18 cartridge , then eluting in neat acetonitrile
or methanol. good luck, gautam

Gautam Sarath
N-226, Beadle Center
Protein Core Facility - Center for Biotechnology &
Department of Biochemistry
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0664
Phone: 402-472-2928
FAX: 402-472-7842
http://www.biotech.unl.edu/Proteins/index.html