Agar derivatives for chromatography, electrophoresis and gel-bound enzymes. III. Rigid agarose gels cross-linked with divinyl sulphone (dvs).

Agarose cross-linked with divinyl sulphone (DVS) is a new matrix for chromatography and immobilized enzymes that has distinct advantages over common agarose gels. It has outstanding mechanical stability as compared with these gels, and the rigid gel beads form beds permitting very high flow-rates. In addition, DVS-agarose is superior to agarose gels with respect to chemical stability in acid and neutral media. In alkaline solutions above pH 8, there is a slow elimination of the sulphone-containing bridges, but without noticeable concomitant dissolution of the gels below pH 12 for moderately or highly cross-linked gels. The DVS-agarose is sufficiently thermostable to be heated in an autoclave.