SHORT PEPTIDES FOR AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATIONS OF PROTEINS

TERRAPIN DIAGNOSTICS, INC. HAS APPLIED ITS PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY IN THE AREA OF MOLECULAR MIMICRY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY "PARALOG" (PARATOPE ANALOG) LIGANDS, WHICH CAN BE USED FOR PROTEIN PURIFICATION AND ANALYSIS. INITIAL EMPIRICAL RESULTS INDICATE THAT THESELIGANDS HAVE NOVEL PROPERTIES COMPARED TO EXISTING CHROMATOGRAPHIC MEDIA, AS EXPECTED THEORETICALLY, AND SHOULDTHEREFORE BE USEFUL IN SEPARATING PROTEINS FROM EACH OTHER BY CRITERIA DISTINCT FROM THOSE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT TERRAPIN'S LIGANDS WILL BE USEFUL IN THE INITIAL PURIFICATION OF NOVEL PROTEINS, IN THE PREPARATIVE SCALE MANUFACTURE OF KNOWN PROTEINS, AND IN THE PURITY ANALYSIS OF RECOMBINANT PROTEINS INTENDED FOR THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH COVERS EXAMINATION OF THE DEGREE OF DIVERSITY OF THE NOVEL LIGANDS AMONGST THEMSELVES, AS WELL AS EXPLORATION OF THEIR OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS WHEN COUPLED TO A SUITABLE CHROMATOGRAPHIC SORBENT.