Polycations as displacer in high-performance bioseparation

Displacement chromatography is an interesting but up to now rarely used typ e of preparative biochromatography. The lack of well-engineered and accessi ble displacer contributes to this phenomenon. In this paper a novel type of displacer is introduced for cation-exchange displacement chromatography, w hich will soon become commercially available. The molecule is a well-define d PolyDADMAC [poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)] with a molar mass of less than 35 000 g/mol, an exclusively linear structure and a molar mass po lydispersity of less than 1.5. A method for synthesizing such a polymer at high yields is described. The PolyDADMAC is shown to be an efficient displa cer of basic proteins from strong cation-exchange columns. (C) 1999 Elsevie r Science B.V. All rights reserved.