In this work, the main emphasis of the research concerns the development of isolation and purification methods of biomolecules from biological fluids. Several separation techniques were incorporated in chromatographic gels to obtain multifunctional hybrid chromatographic separation media for proteins, peptides and amino acid isolation and purification.In the first part of the research, several chelating agents were synthesized and their effectiveness to purify immunoglobulins using Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC) was investigated. Ethylenediamine triacetic acid (TED) with immobilized copper resulted in the most effective in terms of purification and protein capacities.The next part of the work involved the development of hybrid chromatographic media that combines protein specific adsorption with sharp controlled size access permeation. This was accomplished by incorporating two types of ligand derivatives, one that permits the permeation of only certain molecular size range compounds, and a second one that specifically binds target biomolecules among the compounds of that specific molecular size range. Hybrid systems included binding ligands for Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC), Ion Exchange Chromatography (IEX) and Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) combined with a controlled access polymer at different densities such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) and dextran derivatives. In general, low grafting density of high molecular weight PEG was found to be as effective as high grafting density of low molecular weight PEG in the rejecting properties of the semi-permeable synthesized media.Theoretical and experimental batch adsorption studies were also performed with the hybrid media and a mathematical model was developed to study the uptake of proteins under specific conditions of controlled permeation.In the last stage of this work, chelating surfactants were synthesized and used as reversible affinity ligands on reversed phase adsorbents for protein separations.One of the main accomplishments of this research was the development of separation media for small molecular size compounds from larger molecules and from complex biological systems. Applications of special interest will include the isolation and purification of solutes, such as metal ions, toxins, drugs, biomolecules, including proteins, biotoxins, nucleic acids, peptides, hormones, and biomarkers from biological fluids (such as human serum, urine, etc.) and from aqueous solutions.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Biochemistry)) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / Various cytomorphologic and biochemical markers of apoptosis are found in different compartments (plasma membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, and mitochondria) of target cells. Although the plasma membrane is an easily accessible cellular compartment, relatively little is known about the changes in the expression of plasma membrane glycoproteins during apoptosis, and whether these changes could be used for detection of apoptosis. A critical element of this study was to purify lectins from crude homogenate on glycoprotein-cryogel affinity matrices, and later use the lectins to detect changes on the cell surface of apoptotic cells. Pterocarpus angolensis seed lectin was extracted and fractionated using ammonium sulphate precipitation. The 60 % ammonium sulphate pellet was dissolved in saline azide and purified using Sephadex G-75 affinity chromatography. A 28 kDa lectin was retarded within the column and appeared as a short and broad peak on the chromatogram. Traditionally, Sephadex G-75 column are used predominantly for size exclusion, in this study, the column was used in a non-traditional way for affinity chromatography, as the purified protein is able to bind sugar moieties existing in the structure of Sephadex G-75. A single-step purification of P. angolensis seed lectin was achieved by directly applying unclarified P. angolensis crude extract to the pAAm-cryogel using fetuin as the affinity ligand. Pterocarpus angolensis extract fractionated into 2 peaks, which revealed a highly concentrated band on SDS-PAGE. The results also revealed that an increased binding of the lectin to the fetuin-cryogel matrices was also dependent on the time of incubation. This study suggested very low capacities of the cryogels for the protein due to low coupling sites on the matrix. Taking into account that lectins serve as invaluable tools in diverse area of biomedical research, this study proposed using specific plant lectins to follow the expression of plasma membrane glycoproteins during programmed cell death. Treatment of HL-60 cells with lithium and actinomycin D confirmed a time- and dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation and a decrease in proliferation, which suggest cell death of the treated cells. The observed cell death was further investigated for cellular and biochemical hallmark features of apoptosis, which has shown preferential binding of annexin V-FITC to phosphatidylserine and low molecular DNA ladder. Several FITC labelled lectins were used to detect changes in cell surface glycosylation that accompany apoptosis. This study xvii has shown amongst several FITC-labelled lectins that T. vulgaris lectin could intensively stain the membrane area of apoptotic cells suggesting that the expression of N-acetylglucosamine was significantly increased during actinomycin D induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells. Binding was shown to be specific because it was blocked by the corresponding inhibitory sugar. Thus, the method described in this study could be suitable for the detection of very early stages of apoptosis by recognizing the cell surface carbohydrates of apoptosis.

Viruses have emerged as a new class of biotherapeutics used as vectors in gene and cell therapies, vaccines, and as oncolytic agents in novel cancer immunotherapies. While these new and potentially curative new therapies bring great promise for patients, the large-scale purification of viruses is hampered by complicated unit operations, poor overall yields, and high costs. Membrane chromatography (MC) is one of the most ideal options for the removal of host-cell impurities in virus manufacturing. Centred on developing and improving MC processes for virus purification, this thesis focuses on different aspects of downstream processes that are directly related to MC. It describes the development of the first hydrophobic interaction MC process for the purification of vesicular stomatitis virus as a scalable method for the removal of host-cell protein and DNA. It also describes the development of MC for adenovirus purification, and how device design and membrane type impact the resolution; here, the novel laterally-fed membrane chromatography (LFMC) was proven to provide higher resolution than conventional MC devices, and allowed for the first direct comparison between the most popularly used membranes in virus manufacturing – Sartobind Q and Mustang Q. Beyond MC, this thesis also addresses how other downstream unit operations contribute to the final purity. Through an integrated study optimizing clarification, DNA digestion, and MC simultaneously, significant improvement in adenovirus purity was obtained. Finally, the collection of experimental results was used to model complete adenovirus production processes using BioSolve Process and determine the cost-of-goods (COG) of manufacturing for clinical applications. Through simulations of multiple scenarios, critical process parameters were identified and can serve as a guide for future process development decisions. It is anticipated that the contributions herein described will help address critically outstanding questions related to virus purification and thus enable the development of the economical processes for various manufacturing scales. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Certain viruses can be used for human benefit and there are now more than a dozen approved therapies worldwide that use a virus as the main therapeutic agent or as the vector to instruct the patient’s cells to fight cancer and other diseases. The area keeps growing as thousands of other clinical trials continue to be conducted. One of the main challenges that can inhibit patient access to these ground-breaking new options is related to difficulties in producing and purifying enough virus. This study tackles the virus purification challenge by applying and improving membrane chromatography (MC), a promising and scalable technique where virus and impurities are separated based on how differently they interact with a membrane. Different experimental and modelling and simulation tools were applied to optimize MC and other directly-related steps of the production process. The findings in this study can contribute to the development of new virus-based therapeutics so they can reach patients in safe, effective, and affordable ways.

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