Cv. Olson et al., PREPARATIVE ISOLATION OF RECOMBINANT HUMAN INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH-FACTOR-1 BY REVERSED-PHASE HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY, Journal of chromatography, 675(1-2), 1994, pp. 101-112
The isolation of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor 1 (rhIGF
-1) is complicated by the presence of several rhIGF-1 variants which c
o-purify using conventional chromatographic media. These species consi
st primarily of a methionine-sulfoxide variant of the properly folded
molecule and a misfolded form and its respective methionine-sulfoxide
variant. An analytical reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromato
graphy procedure using a 5-mu m C-18 column, an acetonitrile-trifluoro
acetic acid (TFA) isocratic elution, and elevated temperature gives ba
seline resolution of the four species. Using this analytical method as
a development tool, a process-scale chromatography step was establish
ed. The 5-mu m analytical packing material was replaced with a larger-
size particle to reduce back-pressure and cost. Since the TFA counter-
ion binds tightly to proteins and is difficult to subsequently dissoci
ate, a combination of acetic acid and NaCl was substituted. Isocratic
separations are not good process options due to problems with reproduc
ibility and control. A shallow gradient elution using premixed mobile
phase buffers at the same linear velocity was found to give an equival
ent separation at low load levels and minimized solvent degassing. How
ever, at higher loading there was a loss of resolution. A matrix of va
rious buffers was evaluated for their effects on separation. Elevated
pH resulted in a significant shift in both the elution order and relat
ive retention times of the principal rh-IGF-1 variants, resulting in a
substantial increase in effective capacity. An increase in the ionic
strength further improved resolution. Several different media were eva
luated with regard to particle size, shape and pore diameter using the
improved mobile phase. The new conditions were scaled up 1305-fold an
d resulted in superimposable chromatograms, 96% recovery and > 99% pur
ity. Thus, by optimizing the pH, ionic strength and temperature, a hig
h-capacity preparative separation of rhIGF-1 from its related fermenta
tion variants was obtained.