Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy study of protein transport and dynamic interactions with clustered-charge peptide adsorbents

Ion-exchange chromatography relies on electrostatic interactions between the adsorbent and the adsorbate and is used extensively in protein purification. Conventional ion-exchange chromatography uses ligands that are singly charged and randomly dispersed over the adsorbent, creating a heterogeneous distribution of potential adsorption sites. Clustered-charge ion exchangers exhibit higher affinity, capacity, and selectivity than their dispersed-charge counterparts of the same total charge density. In the present work, we monitored the transport behavior of an anionic protein near clustered-charge adsorbent surfaces using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. We can resolve protein-free diffusion, hindered diffusion, and association with bare glass, agarose-coated, and agarose-clustered peptide surfaces, demonstrating that this method can be used to understand and ultimately optimize clustered-charge adsorbent and other surface interactions at the molecular scale.