Advantages of rubidium chloride gradients for isopycnic centrifugation of enzymes

The isopycnic centrifugation of beta-amylase and the marker enzyme beta-galactosidase was carried out using four salts viz. rubidium chloride, potassium bromide, potassium acetate and lithium bromide. Lithium bromide inactivated both beta-galactosidase and beta-amylase. The high viscosity of potassium acetate gradients necessitated an extremely long centrifugation time. The density profiles obtained with rubidium chloride gradients were sharper and permitted better resolution than potassium bromide gradients. Both enzymes were stable in rubidium chloride gradients, while potassium bromide inactivated beta-galactosidase, even in the presence of 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol.