泡沫分离过程中蛋白质变性机理研究进展

泡沫分离技术因其具有低浓度下效率高、成本低和无污染等优点在降低蛋白质分离成本方面具有巨大的潜力。但气-液界面诱导的蛋白质变性能显著降低蛋白质的分离效果,这严重限制了泡沫分离技术在蛋白质分离领域的工业化应用。为了解决这一难题,在列举了泡沫分离过程中普遍存在的蛋白质变性现象的基础上,首先从分子和泡沫水平对泡沫分离过程中蛋白质变性机理的研究现状进行了介绍,并总结、分析和对比了泡沫分离过程中蛋白质变性机理的分子水平研究方法。其次,将泡沫分离过程中蛋白质变性的抑制方法分为分离前的抑制和分离后的复性两类,在介绍这两类方法研究现状的基础上对其进行了分析和对比,指出后者更有利于蛋白质泡沫分离效果的提高。最后提出了泡沫分离蛋白质在分子水平上的研究仍十分薄弱,并指出了解决气-液界面诱导蛋白质变性和蛋白质界面吸附之间的矛盾是提高泡沫分离效果的关键,并对其未来可能的研究方向进行了展望。

Research Progress on Mechanisms of Protein Denaturation in Foam Fractionation

Foam fractionation has great potential in reducing the costs of protein separation due to its advantages of high efficiency at low concentrations, low costs and free pollution. However, protein denaturation induced by the gas-liquid interface can significantly reduce the separation performance of proteins, which severely limits the industrial applications of foam fractionation in protein separation. To solve this problem, based on the listed common phenomena of protein denaturation in foam fractionation, the recent researches on the denaturation mechanisms were firstly described at molecular and foam levels. In the meanwhile, the methods for molecular-level studies on protein denaturation in foam fractionation were summarized, analyzed and compared. Subsequently, the methods for preventing the protein denaturation were divided into two types:inhibition before separation and renaturation after separation. Based on their recent studies, the two types of methods were analyzed and compared, and the latter was suggested to be more effective. Finally, molecular-level studies of foam fractionation of proteins were considered to be of serious lack and resolving contradictions between denaturation induced by the gas-liquid interface and interfacial adsorption of proteins was regarded as the key to improving their foam fractionation performances. Accordingly, possible future directions of research were suggested.