Design and evaluation of new ligands for lysozyme recovery by affinity thermoprecipitation

Ligands containing acetamido group and a spacer were conjugated with an acrylic monomer and copolymerized with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) to yield a thermoprecipitating polymer. The ability of the ligand to bind to lysozyme, which is the first step in the separation of lysozyme, is quantified in terms of I-50, the ligand concentration required to achieve 50% of the maximum attainable inhibition of lysozyme. The copolymers containing acetamido groups inhibit lysozyme far more efficiently than the corresponding polymers containing N-acetylglucosamine. the natural inhibitor for lysozyme. The amount and activity of lysozyme recovered from the aqueous solution as well as lysozyme-ovalbumin mixture increased with the length and the hydrophilicity of the spacer. These polymers also exhibited better recyclability. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.