amino solvents

5
Vol. 4 6 Water-miscible Solvents i n t h e Separation of Amino-acids b y Paper Chromatography B Y H . R . BENTLEY A D J . K . WHITEHEAD Research A8sociation o f British Flour-Millera, Cereals Re8earch Station, S t AIbans (Received 2 9 September 1949) The separation o f amino-acid mixtures into discrete spots on paper chromatograms h a s hitherto almost invariably been carried o u t using solvents only partially miscible with water. Ou work h a s entailed t h e frequent u s e o f 8-collidine as a developing solvent. This solvent i s objectionable chiefly o n account o f it s offensive smell, because o f possible toxic effects (Ludwig, 1935; Holtzmann, 1936) a n d also because it frequently gives 'ghost' spots and double spots which a r e confusing when dealing with unknown products ofprotein hydrolysis. I n an effort t o replace collidine w e have examined many other solvents both partially miscible a n d totally miscible with water. Edman (1946) found that a mixture o f equal volumes o f pyridine and amyl alcohol h ad practically t h e same resolving capacity a s collidine and with advantage replace this solvent. Consden, Gordon & Martin (1944) stated originally that sol- vents completely miscible with water c a n be used provided t h e water content o f th e solvent i s n o t t oo b u t that even then th e amino-acid bands a r e t o o broad t o b e o f value. W e have confirmed that this i s s o , b u t only when volatile solvents ar e used t o develop th e chromatogram b y downward irri- gation from horizontal troughs i n th conventional apparatus (Consden e t al . 1944; Dent, 1948). I n this type o f apparatus, with large a i r space, i t i s inevitably some time after t h e fitting o f t h e canopy o r t h e l i d before t h e atmosphere becomes saturated with sol- vent andwater vapour. During this time preferential evaporation o f a volatile solvent occurs from th e surface o f th e paper a s t h e water-saturated solvent travels along i t . This leaves t h e paper waterlogged. Goodall & Levi (1947) overcame this difficulty with w e t ether i n th e separation o f penicillins b y devising an airtight container with a much reduced a i r space an d equilibrating th e contents o f t h e apparatus at O 0 . Karnovsky & Johnson (1949), o r t h e same pur- pose, used a n airtight container i n which equili- bration w a s completed before addition o f solvent. This was done through a n inlet tube without having t o open th e main container. Non-volatile water- miscible solvents can, however, b e used i n the con- ventional manner, a n d i n a preliminary communi- cation (Bentley & Whitehead, 1949) w e have described t h e successful u s e of t w o such solvents. This work h a s n o w been extended t o include several other solvents which a r e comparatively volatile a nd which ar e satisfactory if r u n b y ascending capillary irrigation i n sealed glass tanks (Williams & Kirby, 1948). Arden, Burstall, Davies, Lewis & Linstead (1948) have used water-miscible solvents f o r t h e separation o f inorganic ions, a n d recently Hanes & Isherwood (1949) have used them f o r t h e separation o f phos- phoric esters. O n starch columns, Moore & Stein (1949) have separated amino-acids using water- miscible solvents. T h e water-miscible solvents employed success- fully i n thepresent work include methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, acetone, pyridine, tetrahydrofuran, fur- furyl alcohol and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. Dioxan failed t o give satisfactory spots; veratryl alcohol i s insufficiently volatile t o b e dried easily; allyl alcohol i s satisfactcry but extremely unpleasant f o r routine use. MATERIALS A ND METHODS Solvents. Acetone a n d pyridine a r e o f A.R. quality. Methanol, ethanol a n d n-propanol a r e t h e commercial absolute _lcohols. Furfuryl alcohol is freshly distilled i n vacuo beore use, since t h e clarity o f t h e final chromato- graphic picture i s seriously impaired i f t h e solvent h as acquired a yellow coloration; t h e inclusion o f urea (0-5 % , w/v) a s a stabilizer (Wilson, 1947) sharpens t h e outlines o f t he spots a n d reduces their size. Commercial tetrahydro- furfuryl alcohol a n d tetrahydrofuran a r e used without further purification. Phenol used with these solvents i n two-way chromatograms i s prepared b y saturating Liquified Phenol (B.P.) with water. Apparatus. With furfuryl alcohol a n d tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol conventional apparatus is employed. T h e solvent flows downward from a horizontal trough over a sheet o f filter paper (18k x 2 2 in.) suspended vertically and enclosed in a canopy ( 3 0 x 3 0 x 5 in.) (cf. Consden e t a l . 1944; Dent, 1948). With volatile solvents t h e method o f Williams & Kirby (1948) i s used. Amino-acid spots a r e placed 6cm. from t h e shorter edgeof a sheetof filter paper (18j x 2 0 in.) a n d t least 1 0 cm . from t h e longer edges where solvent flow i s uneven. T h e longer edges o f t h e sheet a re joined with wire staples to form a hollow cylinder. This i s placed vertically in a glass tank (12 x 8 x 2 1 in.) t h e floor o f which i s covered to a depth o f approximately 0 - 5 i n . with solvent (about 6 0 0 ml.) which ca n b e re-used f o r several successive runs, b u t which must b e frequently replaced because o f changes i n composition du e t o unequal evaporation of water a nd solvent. T h e open en d o f t h e tank is carefully sealed b y means o f a 22-2 3 4 1

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8/8/2019 Amino Solvents

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amino-solvents 1/5

V o l . 4 6

W a t e r - m i s c i b l e S o l v e n t s i n t h e S e p a r a t i o n o f Amino-acids

by P a p e r Chromatography

BY H. R . BENTLEY AD J . K. WHITEHEAD

R e s e a r c h A 8 s o c i a t i o n o f B r i t i s h F l o u r - M i l l e r a , C e r e a l s R e 8 e a r c h S t a t i o n , S t A I b a n s

( R e c e i v e d 2 9 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 4 9 )

The s e p a r a t i o n o f a m i n o - a c i d m i x t u r e s i n t o d i s c r e t e

s p o t s o n p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a m s h a s h i t h e r t o a l m o s t

i n v a r i a b l y b e e n c a r r i e d o u t u s i n g s o l v e n t s o n l y

p a r t i a l l y m i s c i b l e w i t h w a t e r . Our work h a s e n t a i l e d

t h e f r e q u e n t u s e o f 8 - c o l l i d i n e a s a d e v e l o p i n g s o l v e n t .

T h i s s o l v e n t i s o b j e c t i o n a b l e c h i e f l y on a c c o u n t o f i t s

o f f e n s i v e s m e l l , b e c a u s e o f p o s s i b l e t o x i c e f f e c t s( L u d w i g , 1 9 3 5 ; H o l t z m a n n , 1 9 3 6 ) and a l s o b e c a u s e

i t f r e q u e n t l y g i v e s ' g h o s t ' s p o t s and d o u b l e s p o t sw h i c h a r e c o n f u s i n g when d e a l i n g w i t h unknown

p r o d u c t s o f p r o t e i n h y d r o l y s i s . I n an e f f o r t t o r e p l a c e

c o l l i d i n e we h a v e e x a m i n e d many o t h e r s o l v e n t s

b o t h p a r t i a l l y m i s c i b l e and t o t a l l y m i s c i b l e w i t h

w a t e r . Edman ( 1 9 4 6 ) f o u n d t h a t a m i x t u r e o f e q u a l

v o l u m e s o f p y r i d i n e and a m y l a l c o h o l had p r a c t i c a l l yt h e same r e s o l v i n g c a p a c i t y a s c o l l i d i n e and c o u l d

w i t h a d v a n t a g e r e p l a c e t h i s s o l v e n t . C o n s d e n ,

G o r d o n & M a r t i n ( 1 9 4 4 ) s t a t e d o r i g i n a l l y t h a t s o l -

v e n t s c o m p l e t e l y m i s c i b l e w i t h w a t e r can b e u s e d

p r o v i d e d t h e w a t e r c o n t e n t o f t h e s o l v e n t i s n o t t o o

h i g h , b u t t h a t e v e n t h e n t h e a m i n o - a c i d b a n d s a r et o o b r o a d t o b e o f v a l u e . We h a v e c o n f i r m e d t h a t

t h i s i s s o , b u t o n l y wh en v o l a t i l e s o l v e n t s a r e u s e d

t o d e v e l o p t h e c h r o m a t o g r a m by downward i r r i -

g a t i o n f r o m h o r i z o n t a l t r o u g h s i n t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l

a p p a r a t u s ( C o n s d e n e t a l . 1 9 4 4 ; D e n t , 1 9 4 8 ) . I n t h i st y p e o f a p p a r a t u s , w i t h l a r g e a i r s p a c e , i t i s i n e v i t a b l y

some t i m e a f t e r t h e f i t t i n g o f t h e c a n o p y o r t h e l i d

b e f o r e t h e a t m o s p h e r e b e c o m e s s a t u r a t e d w i t h s o l -

v e n t a n d w a t e r v a p o u r . D u r i n g t h i s t i m e p r e f e r e n t i a le v a p o r a t i o n o f a v o l a t i l e s o l v e n t o c c u r s f r o m t h e

s u r f a c e o f t h e p a p e r a s t h e w a t e r - s a t u r a t e d s o l v e n t

t r a v e l s a l o n g i t . T h i s l e a v e s t h e p a p e r w a t e r l o g g e d .G o o d a l l & L e v i ( 1 9 4 7 ) overcame t h i s d i f f i c u l t y w i t h

wet e t h e r i n t h e s e p a r a t i o n o f p e n i c i l l i n s b y d e v i s i n gan a i r t i g h t c o n t a i n e r w i t h a muc h r e d u c e d a i r s p a c e

a n d e q u i l i b r a t i n g t h e c o n t e n t s o f t h e a p p a r a t u s a t

O 0 . K a r n o v s k y & J o h n s o n ( 1 9 4 9 ) , f o r t h e same p u r -

p o s e , u s e d an a i r t i g h t c o n t a i n e r i n w h i c h e q u i l i -b r a t i o n was c o m p l e t e d b e f o r e a d d i t i o n o f s o l v e n t .

T h i s was d o n e t h r o u g h an i n l e t t u b e w i t h o u t h a v i n g

t o o p e n t h e m a i n c o n t a i n e r . N o n - v o l a t i l e w a t e r -

m i s c i b l e s o l v e n t s c a n , h o w e v e r , b e u s e d i n t h e c o n -

v e n t i o n a l m a n n e r , and i n a p r e l i m i n a r y c o m m u n i -

c a t i o n ( B e n t l e y & W h i t e h e a d , 1 9 4 9 ) w e haved e s c r i b e d t h e s u c c e s s f u l u s e o f two s u c h s o l v e n t s .T h i s work h a s n o w b e e n e x t e n d e d t o i n c l u d e s e v e r a l

o t h e r s o l v e n t s w h i c h a r e c o m p a r a t i v e l y v o l a t i l e and

w h i c h a r e s a t i s f a c t o r y i f r u n by a s c e n d i n g c a p i l l a r y

i r r i g a t i o n i n s e a l e d g l a s s t a n k s ( W i l l i a m s & K i r b y ,

1 9 4 8 ) .A r d e n , B u r s t a l l , D a v i e s , L e w i s & L i n s t e a d ( 1 9 4 8 )

h a v e u s e d w a t e r - m i s c i b l e s o l v e n t s f o r t h e s e p a r a t i o n

o f i n o r g a n i c i o n s , and r e c e n t l y H a n e s & I s h e r w o o d

( 1 9 4 9 ) h a v e u s e d them f o r t h e s e p a r a t i o n o f p h o s -

p h o r i c e s t e r s . On s t a r c h c o l u m n s , Moore & S t e i n( 1 9 4 9 ) h a v e s e p a r a t e d a m i n o - a c i d s u s i n g w a t e r -

m i s c i b l e s o l v e n t s .The w a t e r - m i s c i b l e s o l v e n t s e m p l o y e d s u c c e s s -

f u l l y i n t h e p r e s e n t work i n c l u d e m e t h a n o l , e t h a n o l ,

n - p r o p a n o l , a c e t o n e , p y r i d i n e , t e t r a h y d r o f u r a n , f u r -f u r y l a l c o h o l and t e t r a h y d r o f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l . D i o x a n

f a i l e d t o g i v e s a t i s f a c t o r y s p o t s ; v e r a t r y l a l c o h o l i si n s u f f i c i e n t l y v o l a t i l e t o b e d r i e d e a s i l y ; a l l y l a l c o h o l

i s s a t i s f a c t c r y b u t e x t r e m e l y u n p l e a s a n t f o r r o u t i n e

u s e .

MATERIALS AND METHODS

S o l v e n t s . A c e t o n e a n d p y r i d i n e a r e o f A . R . q u a l i t y .M e t h a n o l , e t h a n o l a n d n - p r o p a n o l a r e t h e c o m m e r c i a l

a b s o l u t e _ l c o h o l s . F u r f u r y l a l c o h o l i s f r e s h l y d i s t i l l e d i n

v a c u o b e o r e u s e , s i n c e t h e c l a r i t y o f t h e f i n a l c h r o m a t o -

g r a p h i c p i c t u r e i s s e r i o u s l y i m p a i r e d i f t h e s o l v e n t h a s

a c q u i r e d a y e l l o w c o l o r a t i o n ; t h e i n c l u s i o n o f u r e a ( 0 - 5 %,w / v ) a s a s t a b i l i z e r ( W i l s o n , 1 9 4 7 ) s h a r p e n s t h e o u t l i n e s o f

t h e s p o t s a n d r e d u c e s t h e i r s i z e . C o m m e r c i a l t e t r a h y d r o -

f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l a n d t e t r a h y d r o f u r a n a r e u s e d w i t h o u t

f u r t h e r p u r i f i c a t i o n . P h e n o l u s e d w i t h t h e s e s o l v e n t s i nt w o - w a y c h r o m a t o g r a m s i s p r e p a r e d b y s a t u r a t i n g L i q u i f i e dP h e n o l ( B . P . ) w i t h w a t e r .

A p p a r a t u s . W i t h f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l a n d t e t r a h y d r o f u r f u r y la l c o h o l c o n v e n t i o n a l a p p a r a t u s i s e m p l o y e d . T h e s o l v e n t

f l o w s d o w n w a r d f r o m a h o r i z o n t a l t r o u g h o v e r a s h e e t o ff i l t e r p a p e r ( 1 8 k x 2 2 i n . ) s u s p e n d e d v e r t i c a l l y a n d e n c l o s e d

i n a c a n o p y ( 3 0 x 3 0 x 5 i n . ) ( c f . C o n s d e n e t a l . 1 9 4 4 ; D e n t ,

1 9 4 8 ) . W i t h v o l a t i l e s o l v e n t s t h e m e t h o d o f W i l l i a m s &

K i r b y ( 1 9 4 8 ) i s u s e d . A m i n o - a c i d s p o t s a r e p l a c e d 6 c m . f r o m

t h e s h o r t e r e d g e o f a s h e e t o f f i l t e r p a p e r ( 1 8 j x 2 0 i n . ) a n d a t

l e a s t 1 0 c m . f r o m t h e l o n g e r e d g e s w h e r e s o l v e n t f l o w i s

u n e v e n . T h e l o n g e r e d g e s o f t h e s h e e t a r e j o i n e d w i t h w i r e

s t a p l e s t o f o r m a h o l l o w c y l i n d e r . T h i s i s p l a c e d v e r t i c a l l yi n a g l a s s t a n k ( 1 2 x 8 x 2 1 i n . ) t h e f l o o r o f w h i c h i s c o v e r e d

t o a d e p t h o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y 0 - 5 i n . w i t h s o l v e n t ( a b o u t6 0 0 m l . ) w h i c h c a n b e r e - u s e d f o r s e v e r a l s u c c e s s i v e r u n s , b u t

w h i c h m u s t b e f r e q u e n t l y r e p l a c e d b e c a u s e o f c h a n g e s i nc o m p o s i t i o n d u e t o u n e q u a l e v a p o r a t i o n o f w a t e r a n d s o l v e n t .T h e o p e n e n d o f t h e t a n k i s c a r e f u l l y s e a l e d b y means o f a

2 2 - 2

3 4 1

8/8/2019 Amino Solvents

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amino-solvents 2/5

H . R . BENTLEY AND J . K . WVHITEHEAD

g r e a s e d g l a s s p l a t e t o k e e p t h e i n t e r n a l a t m o s p h e r e s a t u r a t e d

w i t h s o l v e n t a n d w a t e r v a p o u r . T h e t a n k s a r e k e p t i n a

c o n s t a n t - t e m p e r a t u r e r o o m a t 1 8 - 3 ± 0 - 5 0 .P a p e r . Whatman n o . 1 p a p e r i s u s e d i n t h e g l a s s t a n k s ,

when t h e s o l v e n t f r o n t r e a ch es a c o n v e n i e n t h e i g h t ( 3 0 -

3 5 c m . ) i n a b o u t 1 5 h r . ( o v e r n i g h t ) ; f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l a n dt e t r a h y d r o f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l move a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e s a m e

r a t e b y downward f l o w . O n Wh at ma n n o . 4 p a p e r t h es o l v e n t s move m o r e q u i c k l y , r e a c h i n g a s i m i l a r p o i n t a f t e ra b o u t 8 h r .

V i s u a l i z a t i o n o f s p o i 8 . T h e p o s i t i o n s o f t h e a mi n o - a ci d

s p o t s a r e r e v e a l e d b y s p r a y i n g t h e d r i e d p a p e r s w i t h a

s o l u t i o n o f n i n h y d r i n ( 0 - 1 % , w / v ) i n d r y n - b u t a n o l i n t h e

u s u a l m a n n e r . I n t h e c a s e o f f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l , i f t h e p a p e r i s

d r i e d a t t o o h i g h a t e m p e r a t u r e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e p r es e nc e

o f f u r o i c a c i d , b r o w n s t a i n s a p p e a r i n t h e a re a o f t h e s p o t s

w h i c h t h e n f a i l t o d e v e l o p t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c c o l o u r s ; f u r t h e r ,w i t h t h i s s o l v e n t r ap id f a d i ng o f t h e c o l o u r s o c c u r s a n d t h e

s p o t s s h o u l d t h e r e f o r e b e m a r k e d i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r d e v e l o p -

m e n t .

RESULTS

U n d e r t h e c o n d i t i o n s d e s c r i b e d a b o v e m o s t o f t h e a m i n o -a c i d s g i v e s m a l l , s h a r p l y d e f i n e d s p o t s . W i t h t h e b a s i ca m i n o - a c i d s , a p p l i e d a s h y d r o c h l o r i d e s , t h e s po ts a re s o m e -

t i m e s e l o n g a t e d a n d l y s i n e a n d o r n i t h i n e o f t e n g i v e l o n g

s t r e a k s ; w h e r e t h i s o c c u r s n o RF v a l u e ( C o n s d e n e t a l . 1 9 4 4 )

i s i n c l u d e d f o r t h e a m i n o - a c i d i n T a b l e 1 a n d F i g s . 1 a n d 2 .Edman ( 1 9 4 6 ) a n d D e n t ( 1 9 4 8 ) h a v e a l re ad y n o t e d t h i s e f f e c ti n t h e c a s e o f b a s i c a m i n o - a c i d s . C y s t i n e o f t e n g i v e s a n u n -

s a t i s f a c t o r y s p o t a n d t y r o s i n e s t r e a k s w i t h f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l -p y r i d i n e . T h e a d d i t i o n o f u r e a ( 0 5 % , w / v ) t o a c e t o n e a n df u r f u r y l a l c o h o l i m p r o v e s t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e s p o t s , b u t h a s

l i t t l e e f f e c t o n R p v a l u e s .T h e

R pv a l u e s f o r t h e a m i n o - a c i d s w i t h t h e v a r i o u s s o l -

v e n t s , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e a m o u n t s o f w a t e r ( v / v ) a n d o t h e r

a d d i t i o n s named a r e g i v e n i n T a b l e 1 . A s p o i n t ed o u t b yD e n t ( 1 9 4 8 ) , t h e v a l u e s w i l l v a r y ( u p t o 15%) w i t h t h e c o n -

d i t i o n s o f a p a r t i c u l a r e x p e r i m e n t a n d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e t y p e

o f a p p a r a t u s u s e d . T h e r e l a t i v e p o s i t i o n s o f t h e s p o t s , h o w -e v e r , r e m a i n t h e s a m e , a n d f o r e a c h e x p e r i m e n t known

a m i n o - a c i d s s h o u l d b e u s e d a s m ar ke rs u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s

i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h o s e u s e d f o r u n k n o w n s u b s t a n c e s . RF v a l u e s

o b t a i n e d w i t h Whatman n o . 1 a n d Whatman n o . 4 p a p e r s a r e

a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e s a m e . I t w i l l b e s e e n t h a t a l m o s t i d e n t i c a lr e s u l t s a r e g i v e n b y a c e t o n e a n d p y r i d i n e ; f o r r o u t i n e u s e t h e ,f o r m e r i s o b v i o u s l y t o b e p r e f e r r e d . A d d i t i o n s o f p y r id i ne

a n d o f f u r o i c a c i d t o f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l g i v e u s e f u l v a r i a t i o n s i n

R p v a l u e s . T h e a d d i t i o n t o a c e t o n e o f h y d r o c h l o r i c , a c e t i c ,t r i c h l o r o a c e t i c o r b e n z e n e s u l p h o n i c a c i d s e i t h e r c a u s e s e x -c e s s i v e s t r e a k i n g o r e l s e t h e a m i n o - a c i d s p o t s a l l p r o g r e s s

w i t h t h e s o l v e n t b o u n d a r y .

T h e e f f e c t o f i n c r e a s i n g w a t e r c o n t e n t o n t h e R p v a l u e s i nf u r f u r y l a l c o h o l i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g . 1 . T h e a c t u a l m a g n i t u d e s

o f t h e RF v a l u e s , b u t n o t t h e s e q u e n c e , v a r y w i t h t h e a m o u n to f w a t e r p r e s e n t , i n c r e a s i n g w i t h i n c r e a s i n g w a t e r c o n t e n t

w h i l s t t h e r a n g e o f v a l u e s d e c r e a s e s . We h a v e u s e d f u r f u r y la l c o h o l c o n t a i n i n g u p t o 8 0 % w a t e r ( v / v ) . A t t h i s h i g h l e v e lt h e r e i s l i t t l e i f a n y s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e a m i n o - a c i d s a n d t h e

b a n d s a r e v e r y b r o a d , b u t a t 60% w a t e r c o n t e n t t h e r e i s

some d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f R p v a l u e s a n d t h e s po ts a re r ea so n -

a b l y c o m p a c t . W i t h a l l s o l v e n t s s t r e a k i n g o c c u r s t o a g r e a t e r

o r l e s s e r e x t e n t b e l o w 20% ( v / v ) w a t e r c o n t e n t a n d t h e

o p t i m u m w a t e r c o n t e n t f o r s m a l l , s h a r p l y d e f i n e d s p o t s l i e sw it hi n t he r a n g e 2 0 - 4 0 % ( v / v ) .

F i g . 2 , i n w h i c h t h e a m i n o - a c i d s a r e a r r a n g e d i n a s c e n d i n g

o r d e r o f R p v a l u e i n w a t e r - s a t u r a t e d n - b u t a n o l , g i v e s a c o m -

p a r i s o n b e t w e e n t h i s s o l v e n t a n d t h e t h r e e l o w e r w a t e r -

m i s c i b l e a l c o h o l s w h o s e a q u e o u s s o l u t i o n s we h a v e s t u d i e d .W h i l s t t h e g e n e r a l p a t t e r n i s b r o a d l y s i m i l a r i n e a c h c a s e ,t h e a m i n o - a c i d s a r e s e e n t o move m o r e s l o w l y w i t h i n c r e a s i n g

m o l e c u l a r w e i g h t o f t h e a l c o h o l s a n d t h e v a r i a t i o n s i n R p

v a l u e f o r d i f f e r e n t a m i n o - a c i d s b e c o m e l e s s .E a c h o f t h e w a t e r - m i s c i b l e s o l v e n t s we h a v e u s e d b e h a v e s

n o r m a l l y i n t w o - w a y p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a m s . A c e t o n e c o n -

t a i n i n g w a t e r ( 4 0 % , v / v ) h a s p r o v e d p a r t i c u l a r l y u s e f u l i no u r w o r k , r e p l a c i n g c o l l i d i n e a s a s e c o n d s o l v e n t f o r c h r o m a -

t o g r a m s r u n f i r s t w i t h p h e n o l . I n w o r k c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e

i s o l a t i o n o f a t o x i c f a c t o r f r o m N C l 3 - t r e a t e d z e i n ( B e n t l e y ,M a c d e r m o t t , P a c e , W h i t e h e a d & M o r a n , 1 9 4 9 ) a f r a c t i o nw a s o b t a i n e d g i v i n g a s i n g l e s p o t o n p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a m sw i t h t e r t - a m y l a l c o h o l , n - b u t a n o l , n - b u t a n o l - a c e t i c a c i d ,b e n z y l a l c o h o l , f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l o r p h e n o l . W i t h a q u e o u s

a c e to n e t h re e d i s t i n c t s p o t s w i t h w e l l - s p a c e d R p v a l u e s w e r e

o b t a i n e d . C o l l i d i n e g a v e a s i m i l a r p a t t e r n , b u t t h e o c c u r -

r e n c e o f d o u b l e s p o t s a n d h a l o e s w i t h t h i s s o l v e n t , a s w e l l a s

t h e v e r y l o w R , v a l u e s , made i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a m b i g u o u s .F u r t h e r p u r i f i c a t i o n y i e l d e d c r y s t a l l i n e m a t e r i a l g i v i n g a

s i n g l e s p o t i n a q u e o u s a c e t o n e , t h u s a f f o r d i n g some e v i d e n c e

f o r t h e h o m o g e n e i t y o f t h e m a t e r i a l .

DISCUSSION

The f a c t t h a t t y p i c a l s e p a r a t i o n s can b e e f f e c t e d on

p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a m s w i t h w a t e r - m i s c i b l e s o l v e n t s

a s w el l a s w i t h s o l v e n t s o n l y p a r t i a l l y m i s c i b l e w i t hw a t e r r a i s e s t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e mechanism o f p a p e r

c h r o m a t o g r a p h y a s a p p l i e d t o a m i n o - a c i d s . C o n s d e ne t a l . ( 1 9 4 4 ) o r i g i n a l l y p o s t u l a t e d a p a r t i t i o n me-

c h a n i s m f o r t h e p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a m , w h e r e b y t h e

s o l u t e o c c u p i e d a p o s i t i o n on t h e c h r o m a t o g r a md e t e r m i n e d by i t s p a r t i t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t b e t w e e n t h e

f l o w i n g s o l v e n t and t h e w a t e r p h a s e s u p p o r t e d i n t h e

c e l l u l o s e f i b r e s . T h e s e a u t h o r s s u g g e s t e d t h a t , i n t h e

c a s e o f w a t e r - m i s c i b l e s o l v e n t s c o n t a i n i n g s m a l l

amounts o f w a t e r , a ' s a l t i n g - o u t ' e f f e c t o c c u r r e d ,

a l l o w i n g t h e s y s t e m t o f u n c t i o n a s a p a r t i t i o n

c h r o m a t o g r a m . Arden e t a l . ( 1 9 4 8 ) s u g g e s t e d t h a t

t h i s e x p l a n a t i o n was t o o s i m p l e and t h a t o t h e r

f a c t o r s w e r e o p e r a t i v e , s u c h a s s e l e c t i v e e x t r a c t i o n

o f t h e m i x t u r e by t h e s o l v e n t a t t h e s i t e o f t h e t e s t

s p o t and a d s o r p t i o n o f t h e m a t e r i a l by t h e p a p e r .

Our r e s u l t s a g r e e p a r t i c u l a r l y w e l l w i t h a b r o a d e r

c o n c e p t o f t h e mechanism o f p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a p h yr e c e n t l y d e v e l o p e d by Hanes & I s h e r w o o d ( 1 9 4 9 ) .T h e s e a u t h o r s s t r e s s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e water h e l d i n

f i l t e r p a p e r c a n n o t b e c o n s i d e r e d a s f r e e l i q u i d w a t e r ,

b u t i s bound i n some w a y , p o s s i b l y b y h y d r o g e nb o n d i n g , t o t h e h y d r o p h i l i c h y d r o x y l g r o u p s o f t h e

c e l l u l o s e . They s u g g e s t t h a t t h e s o l u t e m o l e c u l e s , b yv ir tu e o f t h e i r h y d r o p h i l i c g r o u p s , w i l l c o m p e t e w i t h

w a t e r and s o l v e n t m o l e c u l e s , which u s u a l l y c o n t a i n

h y d r o p h i l i c g r o u p s a l s o , i n t h e m o b i l e p h a s e f o r

i n c o r p o r a t i o n i n t h i s c e l l u l o s e - w a t e r c o m p l e x . Thed i s t r i b u t i o n o f any g i v e n s o l u t e ( a n d h e n c e t h e B,

v a l u e ) w i l l d e p e n d upon s u c h f a c t o r s a s t h e n u m b e r ,

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p o s i t i o n and c h a r a c t e r o f t h e h y d r o p h i l i c g r o u p s

w h i c h i t c o n t a i n s and a l s o on t h e w a t e r c o n t e n t and

t h e n u m b e r , p o s i t i o n and c h a ra ct e r o f t h e h y d r o -

p h i l i c g r o u p s o f t h e s o l v e n t .

On t h i s h y p o t h e s i s i t w o u l d b e e x p e c t e d t h a t , f o ra g i v e n s o l v e n t , an i n c r e a s e i n w a t e r c o n t e n t would

r e s u l t i n t h e s o l u t e m o l e c u l e s moving more q u i c k l ydown t h e p a p e r , and t h a t t h e r a t e s o f m o l e c u l e s o f

d i f f e r e n t s o l u t e s would t e n d t o become more n e a r l y

e q u a l . The s o l u t e m o l e c u l e s w o u l d , b e c a u s e o f t h e

m a s s - a c t i o n e f f e c t , h a v e a d e c r e a s i n g a f f i n i t y f o r

i n c o r p o r a t i o n i n t h e c e l l u l o s e - w a t e r c o m p l e x a s t h e

number o f w a t e r m o l e c u l e s i n t h e s o l v e n t i n c r e a s e d

and t h u s h a v e a g r e a t e r t e n d e n c y t o r e m a i n i n t h e

m o b i l e p h a s e and mov e w i t h i t . T h i s , i n f a c t , i s f o u n d

t o o c c u r ( F i g . 1 ) . I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t e v e n a t v e r yh i g h w a t e r c o n t e n t s ( 8 0 - 9 0 % ) t h e a m i n o - a c i d s ,

a l t h o u g h moving a t a l m o s t i d e n t i c a l r a t e s , d o n o t l i ea l o n g t h e s o l v e n t b o u n d a r y , i . e . t h e i r

B .v a l u e s a r e

v e r y n e a r l y , b u t n o t q u i t e , e q u a l t o u n i t y . I t w o u l da p p e a r t h a t a t t h e s e l e v e l s t h e r e i s s t i l l some i n c o r -p o r a t i o n o f s o l u t e m o l e c u l e s i n t h e c e l l u l o s e - w a t e r

c o m p l e x .

I n t h e c a s e o f t h e t h r e e w a t e r - m i s c i b l e a l c o h o l s

w h i c h we h a v e s t u d i e d , t h e i n c r e a s e i n h y d r o p h i l i c

c h a r a c t e r i n t h e s e r i e s n - p r o p a n o l - e t h a n o l - m e t h a n o l

w o u l d b e e x p e c t e d . t o r e s u l t i n p r o g r e s s i v e l y g r e a t e r

c o m p e t i t i o n by t h e a l c o h o l m o l e c u l e s f o r i n c o r -p o r a t i o n i n t h e c e l l u l o s e - w a t e r c o m p l e x t o t h e

e x c l u s i o n o f s o l u t e m o l e c u l e s w h i c h c o n s e q u e n t l yw o u l d h a v e a g r e a t e r t e n d e n c y t o m o v e w i t h t h e

m o b i l e p h a s e . T h i s e f f e c t i s a p p a r e n t f r o m t h e g e n e r a li n c r e a s e o f R . v a l u e s o f t h e a m i n o - a c i d s t h r o u g h t h i ss e r i e s o f a l c o h o l s ( F i g . 2 ) .

I f a m e c h a n i s m o f t h i s t y p e i s a s s u m e d t o b e

g e n e r a l l y o p e r a t i v e i n p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a p h y t h e n ,

i n t h e c a s e o f s o l v e n t s o n l y p a r t i a l l y m i s c i b l e w i t h

w a t e r , t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e f l o w i n g s o l v e n t and o f

t h e c e l l u l o s e - w a t e r c o m p l e x a r e p r e s u m a b l y v a r i a b l e

o n l y w i t h i n f i x e d l i m i t s . The e f f e c t w i l l t h e n b e c o m e

a l m o s t e q u i v a l e n t t o t r u e p ar t it i o n b e t w e e n s o l v e n tand w a t e r , and RF v a l u e s w i l l b e e x p e c t e d t o c o r r e -s p o n d w i t h t h o s e c a l c u l a t e d f r o m t h e p a r t i t i o n

c o e f f i c i e n t s , a s f o u n d by C o n s d e n e t a l . ( 1 9 4 4 ) i n t h e

c a s e o f n - b u t a n o l .

SUMMARY

1 . The u s e o f w a t e r - m i s c i b l e s o l v e n t s f o r t h e

s e p a r a t i o n o f a m i n o - a c i d s by p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a p h y

i s d e s c r i b e d .

2 . A q u e o u s m i x t u r e s o f r e l a t i v e l y n o n - v o l a t i l e

s o l v e n t s s u c h a s f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l and t e t r a h y d r o -

f u r f u r y l a l co h o l g i v e s m a l l s h a r p s p o t s by downward

f l o w i n t h e u s u a l w a y .

3 . With more v o l a t i l e s o l v e n t s ( l o w e r a l c o h o l s ,a c e t o n e , p y r i d i n e and t e t r a h y d r o f u r a n ) s a t i s f a c t o r y

r e s u l t s c a n b e o b t a i n e d by t h e method o f c a p i l l a r ya s c e n t i n s m a l l c l o s e d g l a s s t a n k s .

4 . A q u e o u s a c e t o n e c a n w i t h a d v a n t a g e r e p l a c ec o l l i d i n e f o r u s e i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h p h e n o l o n t w o -

way c h r o m a t o g r a m s .

5 . The b e a r i n g o f t h e s e r e s u l t s on a p o s s i b l em e c h a n i s m f o r p a p e r c h r o m a t o g r a p h y i s d i s -c u s s e d .

T h e a u t h o r s ' t h a n k s a r e d u e t o M i s s H . M . B i g g f o rt e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e .

REFERENCES

A r d e n , T . V . , B u r s t a l l , F . H . , D av ie s , G . R . , L e w i s , J . A . &

L i n s t e a d , R . P . ( 1 9 4 8 ) . N a t u re , L o n d . , 1 6 2 , 6 9 1 .B e n t l e y , H . R . , M a c d e r m o t t , E . E . , P a c e , J . , W h i t e h e a d ,

J . K . & M o r a n , T . ( 1 9 4 9 ) . N a t u r e , L o n d . , 1 6 4 , 4 3 8 .B e n t l e y , H . R . & W h i t e h e a d , J . K . ( 1 9 4 9 ) . N a t u r e , L o u d . ,

1 6 4 , 1 8 2 .C o n s d e n , R . , G o r d o n , A . H . & M a r t i n , A . J . P . ( 1 9 4 4 ) .

B i o c h e m . J . 3 8 , 2 2 4 .D e n t , C . E . ( 1 9 4 8 ) . B i o c h e m . J . 4 3 , 1 6 9 .E d m a n , P. ( 1 9 4 6 ) . A r k . Kemi M i n . G e o l . 2 2 A , n o . 3 .G o o d a l l , R . R . & L e v i , A . A . ( 1 9 4 7 ) . A n a l y s t , 7 2 , 2 7 7 .

H a n e s , C . S . & I s h e r w o o d , F . A . ( 1 9 4 9 ) . N a t u r e , L o n d . ,

1 6 4 , 1 1 0 7 .H o l t z m a n n , F . ( 1 9 3 6 ) . Z b l . G e w H y g . 2 3 , 8 .

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