Immunochromatographic analysis of proteins. Identification, characterization and purity determination.

Antibodies specific to a protein and its structural variants were immobilized on a high-performance Protein G column. This column recognized and selectively subtracted specific molecules from a sample. When a size-exclusion column was coupled with this high-performance affinity column, a comparison between the elution profile before and after the antibody immobilization was used to study antigen components present in the sample. Various human growth hormone structural variants and aggregates were studied using this approach. The technique is simple, fast and does not involve the usage of radioactive material.