EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF RESTRICTED PROTEIN DIFFUSION IN AN AGAROSE MATRIX

The diffusion of proteins in polymer matrices is an important step in the adsorptive and chromatographic processes used for protein purification, as it is often rate-limiting. Methods for the estimation of the intraparticle diffusivity in polymer gels have been developed and were applied to the diffusion of seven model proteins in agarose particles. The intraparticle diffusivity was not affected by particle diameter. A correlation based on the restricted diffusion model of Ogston et al. (1973) and Cukier (1984) has been proposed. This correlation allows the estimation of protein diffusivity in these matrices based on the molecular weight of the protein and the polymer concentration.