PHEMA based composite cryogels with loaded hydrophobic beads for lysozyme purification

The purpose of this study is to synthesize megaporous cryogel loaded with hydrophobic affinity beads which can be utilized for the purification of lysozyme from chicken egg-white. N-methacryloyl-(l)-tryptophan methylester (MATrp) was used as the hydrophobic ligand. In the first step, poly(glycidyl methacrylate-N-methacryloyl-(l)-tryptophan methyl-ester) [PGMATrp] beads (2.2 μm in diameter) were produced by dispersion polymerization. In the second step, the poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) cryogel loaded with PGMATrp beads [PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel] was polymerized initiated by N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylene diamine (TEMED) and ammonium persulfate (APS) at −12 °C. Lysozyme adsorption capacity of the PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel (332.7 mg/g polymer) was improved significantly due to the loading of PGMATrp beads into the cryogel structure. The hydrophobic MATrp comonomer played a vital role in this binding mechanism. The PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel could be used many times without decreasing the lysozyme adsorption amount significantly. The main advantage of the PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel is the high adsorption capacity.