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Protein precipitation is widely used in downstream processing of biological products in order to concentrate proteins and purify them from various contaminants. For example, in the biotechnology industry protein precipitation is used to eliminate contaminants commonly contained in blood. [ 1 ]
Ammonium sulfate precipitation is a useful technique as an initial step in protein purification because it enables quick, bulk precipitation of cellular proteins. [4] It is also often employed during the later stages of purification to concentrate protein from dilute solution following procedures such as gel filtration.
The protein manufacturing cost remains high and there is a growing demand to develop cost efficient and rapid protein purification methods. Understanding of the different protein purification methods and optimizing the downstream processing are critical to minimize production costs while maintaining the quality of acceptable standards of homogeneity. [2]
The "salting out" effect is commonly exploited in protein purification through the use of ammonium sulfate precipitation. [16] However, these salts also interact directly with proteins (which are charged and have strong dipole moments) and may even bind specifically (e.g., phosphate and sulfate binding to ribonuclease A).
Immunoprecipitation of intact protein complexes (i.e. antigen along with any proteins or ligands that are bound to it) is known as co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). Co-IP works by selecting an antibody that targets a known protein that is believed to be a member of a larger complex of proteins.
Salting out (also known as salt-induced precipitation, salt fractionation, anti-solvent crystallization, precipitation crystallization, or drowning out) [1] is a purification technique that utilizes the reduced solubility of certain molecules in a solution of very high ionic strength.
The nucleic acids (RNA and/or DNA) partition into the aqueous phase, while protein partitions into the organic phase. The pH of the mixture determines which nucleic acids get purified. [4] Under acidic conditions (pH 4-6), DNA partitions into the organic phase while RNA remains in the aqueous phase.
Finally, albumin is located in fraction V. The precipitation of albumin is done by reducing the pH to 4.8, which is near the pI of the protein, and maintaining the ethanol concentration to be 40%, with a protein concentration of 1%. Thus, only 1% of the original plasma remains in the fifth fraction. [4]