The use of thiol-disulphide exchange chromatography for the automated isolation of alpha 1-antitrypsin and other plasma proteins with reactive thiol groups.

A method has been developed for the rapid isolation of alpha 1-antitrypsin and other thiol proteins from plasma by an automated chromatography system. The thiol-proteins are initially bound to matrix-linked activated thiol-compounds by an SH-SS interchange reaction. The mixed disulphides are then reduced in two steps and subfractionated by passage through Blue-Sepharose and AH-Sepharose columns. The rate of the interchange reactions varies with the microenvironment of the reacting thiols. alpha 1-Antitrypsin is recovered with 95% purity in 60% yield within two days from 1 l of plasma.