By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Do You Know What’s in Your Pain Pill?
    May 11, 2011
    Depression and Diabetes Linked
    June 23, 2011
    Positive Health and the Heart
    July 28, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Methods for Protein Purification in Biotechnology
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health care > Methods for Protein Purification in Biotechnology
Health carePublic HealthSpecialtiesWellness

Methods for Protein Purification in Biotechnology

James Wilson
Last updated: December 4, 2019 8:17 pm
James Wilson
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

  Without biotechnological research, important measures such as vaccines, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals would cease to exist. Researchers must be able to manipulate proteins in a highly controlled manner to study the outcomes of various techniques and procedures across a wide sample range. Thus, it is increasingly important to ensure that these proteins are isolated and pure so that their unique reactions and functions can be studied.

Contents
What Is Protein Purification?Protein Purification Is the Basis for Biotechnological Research

What Is Protein Purification?

Generally speaking, protein purification refers to the process in which a specific protein under study is isolated and removed from other molecules. Then, its reactions with common binding partners (ligands) can be studied without interference. There are numerous methods for purifying proteins generated using recombinant DNA, all referred to as recombinant protein purification. All purification processes typically involve the following steps:

  1. Prepare crude extract. To begin purifying proteins, researchers must remove the material that contains proteins from their surrounding environment. The substance removed from within a cell includes not only the desired proteins but other proteins, macromolecules, nutrients, and cell debris. For some applications, this extract is adequate. For biomedical applications, however, further preparation is necessary. Often, intracellular extract is further prepared by the removal of the cell debris that may accompany the desired proteins. The extract is placed in a centrifuge, which isolates the proteins and allows for the removal of the unwanted residue. In a similar manner, extracellular proteins can be separated from associated cells.
  2. Precipitation. Once researchers prepare the crude extract, secondary purification steps are often necessary to further isolate the protein for study. Usually, secondary purification involves precipitation, which involves introducing the crude extract to an ammonium sulfate solution with high osmotic strength. Proteins with varying molecular weights will become less water-soluble in solutions with increasingly high salt content. Undesirable proteins – proteins the researcher is not interested in purifying – will precipitate, or separate from the solution, at differing salt concentration levels. Then, the desired proteins can be concentrated and removed.
  3. Protein visualization and assessment of purification. Once the desired proteins are isolated, researchers must separate the protein from the remaining salts in the solution to allow for visualization of the protein. This final step involves some sort of chromatography, which separates the two components in the mixture into phases. A stationary phase keeps the undesired salt in place, while a mobile phase removes the proteins in the mixture through a medium, for filtration. Affinity chromatography is a commonly-used final purification step due to the resulting highly-purified protein solution. Desired proteins are “tagged” with a peptide or protein ligand that will form a strong bond. Then, the solution is rinsed with another solution containing free ligands, removing the protein from the gel column. This method results in the most highly purified protein solutions and allows highly specific research on the isolated protein solution.

Protein Purification Is the Basis for Biotechnological Research

Studies conducted on purified, isolated proteins provides researchers with the best possible information regarding how a protein interacts with hormones, changes in shape, or experimental drug ligands. Achieving ideal protein purification in an efficient, precise manner can only aid in the development of pharmaceuticals and other disease-preventing technologies, cementing recombinant protein purification as one of the most important steps in biotechnological research today.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By James Wilson
James is a freelance writer and blogger. He loves to write on wellness, tech and E-Health.

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

Math Matters: Dosing Errors Can Be Deadly

May 1, 2012

Medicare Benefits Good Step Towards Prevention

June 23, 2011

Patient Power: Many Miles Traveled, Many More to Go

April 21, 2012
Eye CareSpecialties

Tips On How To Stop Your Eyesight From Deteriorating

June 2, 2020
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?