High-performance ion-exchange chromatographic separation of proteoglycans

Proteoglycans synthesized by cultured human muscle cells were separated by ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography using a Bio-gel TSK DEAE 5-PW analytical column. The procedure requires only 40 min to complete. The same analytical size column can be used for either analytical or semipreparative scale separations without significant loss of resolution. Proteoglycans elute from the TSK column with a similar recovery and at similar elution ionic strengths when compared to the established cellulose-based chromatographic gel, DEAE-Sephacel. The technique has been applied to the analysis of chondroitinase-digested samples and is particularly useful for rapid screening of large numbers of cultures for both biosynthetic rate studies and analysis of patterns of proteoglycan synthesis.