METHOD OF ANALYSIS OF RECOMBINANT ACIDIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH-FACTOR BY CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

Fibroblast growth factors are a series of well characterized proteins that have intriguing pharmacological properties. Acidic fibroblast gro wth factor (aFGF) recently appeared in the literature for its efficacy in spinal cord repair in rats. The protein has proven difficult to an alyze by capillary electrophoresis, because it has a tendency to unfol d, aggregate and precipitate, especially near and above physiological temperatures. By studying the turbidity of capillary electrophoresis r unning buffers and aFGF at 50 degrees C, conditions were found that st abilize the aFGF solution, thereby allowing the capillary electrophore tic separation of the protein from its recombinant production impuriti es. The buffer system employs 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5 with 0. 25% hydroxyprapylmethylcellulose (HPMC) additive. This system provided the best efficiency and selectivity of the systems studied and was de veloped for pharmaceutical purity analysis. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.