Purification of proteins fused to maltose-binding protein

Maltose-binding protein (MBP) is one of the most popular fusion partners being used for producing recombinant proteins in bacterial cells. MBP allows one to use a simple capture affinity step on amylose-agarose columns, resulting in a protein that is often 70-90% pure. In addition to protein-isolation applications, MBP provides a high degree of translation and facilitates the proper folding and solubility of the target protein. This chapter describes efficient procedures for isolating highly purified MBP-target proteins. Special attention is given to considerations for downstream applications such as structural determination studies, protein activity assays, and assessing the chemical characteristics of the target protein.