Flurbiprofen-sepharose chromatography of the prostaglandin synthetase from bovine seminal vesicles.

Flurbiprofen-Sepharose and Acetyl-Sepharose have been prepared by coupling dl-2-(2-fluoro-4-biphenylyl)propionic acid [Flurbiprofen] and acetic acid, respectively, to 3-(N-[3-aminopropyl)aminopropyl Sepharose 4B using a water soluble carbodiimide. The arachidonic acid oxygenase activity of solubilized bovine seminal vesicle microsomes is retarded during chromatography on Flurbiprofen-Sepharose but not Acetyl-Sepharose. Thus binding of the oxygenase to Flurbiprofen-Sepharose results from interaction with the immobilized inhibitor. However, the impure oxygenase is either not bound and/or not eluted in a biospecific manner since the abilities of flufenamic acid, R(+) and S(-)-5-cyclohexylindan-1-carboxylic acid, and R and S-Naproxen to remove the enzyme from Flurbiprofen-Sepharose do not parallel the relative efficacies of these compounds as prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors. Nevertheless, gradient elution of arachidonic acid oxygenase activity from Flurbiprofen-Sepharose with flufenamic acid provides a 15 fold enrichment of the enzyme from solubilized bovine seminal vesicle microsomes in 80% yield indicating that this chromatographic reagent can be a powerful tool for use in purification of the prostaglandin synthetase.