Foam fractionation of binary mixtures of lysozyme and albumin

A nitrogen gas-based foam fractionation method was employed to separate model proteins, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and hen egg white lysozyme, from each other. Fractionation was characterized by the separation ratio and by recovery of proteins in the retentate as a function of the nominal pore size of the gas dispersion frit and solution conditions (pH and ionic strength). For binary mixtures of the proteins at pH 7.4, and ionic strength (mu) of 0.18 M, the recovery of lysozyme and the separation ratio were both dependent on the frit size employed to generate the foam. At low ionic strength (mu = 0.01 M), separation was only somewhat greater with the small pore size frits, although at values significantly lower than those found for high ionic strength. The diminished separations appear to be due to the only slight changes in recoveries observed for BSA and lysozyme.%Separation ratios of lysozyme from BSA in solutions either of high or low ionic strength were maximal at pH values equal to or less than the isoelectric point (pI) of BSA. Separation ratios were lower when foaming was carried out under low compared with high ionic strength. The recovery of lysozyme was enhanced by foaming from solutions of low pH and high ionic strength. Recoveries of BSA were greatest when the molecule was negatively charged. Electrical interactions between the positively charged lysozyme and negatively charged BSA may explain the diminished separation ratios and enhanced recoveries. Enzyme activity studies of lysozyme remaining in the retentate showed no change from prefoam activity.