Cation-exchange chromatography of peptides on poly(2-sulfoethyl aspartamide)-silica.

A strong cation-exchange material, poly(2-sulfoethyl aspartamide)-silica (PolySULFOETHYL Aspartamide) was developed for purification and analysis of peptides by high-performance liquid chromatography. All peptides examined were retained at pH 3, even when the amino terminus was the only basic group. Peptides were eluted in order of increasing number of basic residues with a salt gradient. Capacity was high, as was selectivity and column efficiency. This new column material displays modest mixed-mode effects, allowing the resolution of peptides having identical charges at a given pH. The selectivity can be manipulated by the addition of organic solvent to the mobile phases; this increases the retention of some peptides and decreases the retention of others. The retention in any given case may reflect a combination of steric factors and non-electrostatic interactions. Selectivity was complementary to that of reversed-phase chromatography (RPC) materials. Excellent purifications were obtained by sequential use of PolySULFOETHYL Aspartamide and RPC columns for purification of peptides from crude tissue extracts. The new cation exchanger is quite promising as a supplement to RPC for general peptide chromatography.