Immobilized metal ion affinity adsorption and immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography of biomaterials. Serum protein affinities for gel-immobilized iron and nickel ions.

Immobilized metal ion affinity adsorption (IMA adsorption) is a collective term that is proposed to include all kinds of adsorptions whereby metal atoms or ions immobilized on a polymer cause or dominate the interaction at the sorption sites. IMA chromatography is one of the most powerful methods available to date for protein fractionation although this is not as yet widely recognized. This study deals with the theoretical aspects of IMA adsorption and its practical applications as exemplified by the various results reported here. The synthesis of iminodiacetate-substituted agarose (IDA-agarose) and tris(carboxymethyl)ethylenediamine-agarose (TED-agarose) is described. Many types of metal ions can easily be immobilized on these gel derivatives to form IMA adsorbents. We have not observed any damage to the proteins during the adsorption-desorption process. After performance of an experiment, the gels can easily be regenerated and can be loaded with the same or a different metal ion for an ensuing experiment. Specific adsorption is demonstrated for serum proteins on immobilized Ni(II) and Fe(III). Ligand-specific desorption (affinity elution) is also demonstrated by including in the buffer system certain solutes which are similar to or identical with some particular amino acids found in proteins. High concentrations of certain salts that affect the structure of water, such as Na2SO4, promote coordinate covalent bonding of proteins by a mechanism that is apparently similar to that found in hydrophobic interactions. Neutral detergents and aquoorganic solvents may be used. This opens up the possibility for the fractionation of membrane components. The IMA-adsorption method could also be expanded to other areas besides protein fractionation.