The purification of membrane proteins can be challenging due to their poor solubility in conventional detergent and/or chaotropic solutions. The introduction of fusion systems that promote the formation of inclusion bodies has facilitated the over-expression of membrane proteins. In this protocol, we describe the use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as an aid in the purification of highly hydrophobic membrane proteins expressed as inclusion bodies. The advantage of utilizing PFOA is threefold: first, PFOA is able to reliably solubilize inclusion bodies, second, PFOA is compatible with nickel affinity chromatography, and third, PFOA can be efficiently dialyzed away to produce a detergent free sample. To demonstrate the utility of employing PFOA, we expressed and purified a segment of the extremely hydrophobic membrane protein caveolin-1.

Efficient solubilization and purification of highly insoluble membrane proteins expressed as inclusion bodies using perfluorooctanoic acid

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.