[Use of aerosol OT reverse micelles in heptane for purifying superoxide dismutase from erythrocytes].

Reversed micelles of Aerosol-OT (AOT) in heptane were used to purify superoxide dismutase (SOD) from bovine red blood cells. Effects of pH, temperature, concentrations of NaCl and protein in the aqueous phase, and the AOT to protein ratio on the extraction of the concomitant proteins from the aqueous into micellar phase were studied. The conditions were found that provided the extraction of concomitant proteins into micelles of AOT in heptane and left SOD in the aqueous phase. The SOD was electrophoretically pure; therefore, the need for its purification using chromatography was excluded.