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Synthesis and application of a poly(ethylene glycol)-antibody affinity ligand for cell separations in aqueous polymer

The possibility of producing biospecific affinity ligands for separating cells in two polymer aqueous phase systems on the basis of cell surface antigens was investigated. Rabbit anti-human erythrocyte IgG was reacted with cyanuric chloride-activated monomethyl poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) fractions (molecular weights approximately 200, 1900, and 5000) at various molar ratios of PEG to protein lysine groups. The partition coefficient of the protein in a Dextran/PEG two-phase system increased with increasing degree of modification and increasing PEG molecular weight. There was a concomitant loss in ability to agglutinate human erythrocytes. The ability of the modified IgG to bind to a DEAE-cellulose column was almost eliminated by reaction with the PEG 5000, and was decreased to a lesser extent by PEG 1900. This PEG 1900-modified IgG substantially increased the partition of fresh or fixed human erythrocytes into the PEG-rich phase of a suitable phase system, while having no effect on rabbit cell partition. The partition increase could be inhibited by unmodified anti-human red cell IgG but not by nonspecific unmodified human IgG, demonstrating that the ligand effects were specific for the cell type against which the antibody was raised. A mixture of rabbit and human erythrocytes, which ordinarily have very similar partitions in the phase systems used, could be separated on a countercurrent distribution apparatus using the modified IgG. These results demonstrate the feasibility of producing immunologically specific affinity partition ligands for cell separation.

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