One-step chromatographic method for the purification of avian serotransferrin

Existing purification procedures for serum transferrins involve multistep chromatographic separations and require several days to complete. In addition, they have not been tested for purification of transferrins directly from the blood of egg-laying animals, where large amounts of circulatory lipoproteins can interfere with standard chromatographic separations. We have developed a procedure for purifying transferrin in one step directly from the serum of ovulating chickens. The method, which is based on hydrophobic interaction chromatography, gives a yield of about 12 mg (80%) of purified serotransferrin from 3 ml of serum and can be completed in a few hours.