Model: AKTA Purifier, GE Healthcare

Principle
Protein purification is the isolation of one specific type of protein from a pool of many different proteins produced in a cell. Using chromatography, proteins can be separated on the basis of intrinsic properties such as charge, size, shape, hydrophobicity, and specificity for a particular ligand. Based on the property exploited for the purification, chromatography techniques can be classified into following types: ion-exchange chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography, and affinity chromatography. In Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC), the mobile phase is commonly a buffer while the stationary phase is normally a resin cross-linked agarose bead. Automated FPLC systems such as AKTA Purifier can be used to standardize and carry out protein purification.

Applications
Separation and purification of various proteins, polynucleotides, synthetic oligonucleotides etc.
Identification of protein profiles and variability within single proteins.
Study of enzymatic functions and regulation.