The Refolding Page

Many of the younger generation of scientists have never experienced the challenge (thrill) of designing an efficient refolding unit operation. Despite rumblings of insurmountable technical difficulties, a refolding based recovery process can confer many advantages.  Consider the following :

 

Inclusion body formation in prokaryotic microorganisms provides a simple mechanism for extraction and purification based on non-chromatograhic particle handling techniques.

Inclusion bodies can attain surprisingly high degrees of purity

Inclusion bodies can be easily washed to remove host cell contaminants

Many inclusion bodies maintain a high degree of protein secondary and therefore solubilization can be accomplished with relatively mild conditions. Contrary to popular rumor, strong chaotropes are not mandatory for inclusion body solubilization

Refolding of solubilized inclusion body protein can be efficiently controlled via REDOX pairing, oxidization drivers and chaotrope concentration.

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