PREPARATION OF AN AFFINITY RESIN FOR ODORANTS BY COUPLING ODORANT BINDING-PROTEIN FROM BOVINE NASAL-MUCOSA TO SEPHAROSE-4B

The soluble Odorant Binding protein (OBP) of bovine nasal mucosa is a dimer of non-covalently bound subunits that specifically recognizes se veral odorants of different chemical classes. Monomerization and bindi ng activity impairment are concomitant reversible processes that occur below pH 6.0. In order to avoid this inconvenience, a mild pH conditi on has been chosen to couple native OBP to CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B resin. Above pH 6.0, the OBP-Sepharose matrix shows high specificity and affinity for odorants, thus opening new perspectives in odorant-se nsor technology.