Ion-exchange chromatography offers 'elegant and easy' extraction

Extraction of the spinach Cytochrome b6f complex from poplar leaves is "elegant and easy" with ion-exchange chromatography, according to researchers.

Ion-exchange chromatography is the first step in the extraction process, crudely separating the Cyt.b6f sub-complex from the leaf matter.

This RF-1 fraction is then subjected to further chromatography, purifying it using the Sephadex G-75 gel substrate.

Further chromatographic purification removes polyphenols from the RF-1 fraction, improving the spectral characteristics of the sub-complex in the process.

The process is claimed to be a more elegant means of extracting Cyt.b6f, which contains four main polypeptides.

Researchers at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences say: "The standard procedures for its isolation are difficult, including selective extraction, use of detergents, long high-speed gradient centrifugation, et cetera."

The academy was formed in 1869 as the Bulgarian Learned Society and issued its first periodical publication, the Periodical Journal, the following year, beginning honorary elections of new members in 1871.