TRANSFERRIN METALLOPROTEIN AFFINITY METAL CHROMATOGRAPHY

The metal transport protein transferrin, when immobilized to Sepharose , can serve as an affinity media for the selective removal and subsequ ent release of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution. The material is stable over the pH range of 2-10, is self-indicating for the binding of certain metal ions, and maintains its integrity towards metal-bindi ng capacity for long periods of time. In one step heavy metal ion conc entrations can be reduced by at least five orders of magnitude to, at most, part per billion levels. The findings here presented suggest a n ovel practical method for the decontamination and/or recovery of metal s ions from very dilute solutions and represent the first efforts to e xtend the concept of affinity chromatography to metal ions.