High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) of Proteins [New Analytical Methods (29)]

The application of high‐pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) to proteins has undergone a dramatic development in recent years. Nowadays its many variants expand the repertoire of high‐performance analysis methods available to the protein chemist, which, until now, have been dominated by electrophoretic techniques. The advent of gene technology has resulted in a renaissance of protein chemistry. The new analytical and preparative problems that have thereby emerged are often ideally solved by HPLC methods. HPLC has long since ceased to be solely a laboratory technique; HPLC systems are now being developed for the separation of proteins–particularly those of great pharmaceutical interest – on a 100‐g scale. The range of applications of analytical and preparative HPLC will be illustrated by two examples of pharmaceutical importance—insulin and interleukin 2. The current renaissance of protein biochemistry—brought about by the rapid development of gene technology and stimulated by the therapeutic importance of proteins—has given rise to new analytical and preparative separation problems, for which HPLC procedures offer ideal solutions. Accordingly, HPLC has long ceased to be merely a laboratory method: at present, “industrial” systems are being developed for the separation of proteins on a 100‐g scale. The scope of application of these methods is exemplified by insulin and interleukin 2.