M. Reichlin
1980
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0
Influential Citations
233
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Methods in Enzymology
Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the use of glutaraldehyde as a coupling agent for proteins and peptides. In immunochemical study, the need arises to link proteins to particles, to polymerize proteins, or to form covalent conjugates of proteins and smaller peptides. The availability of reagents that are simple and effective, while largely preserving the native antigenicity of the proteins and peptides under study, is of considerable utility. Glutaraldehyde is such a reagent and has been successfully used for all the above applications. Glutaraldehyde has been employed for coupling adenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and glucagon to larger proteins. The resulting conjugates were uniformly antigenic in rabbits. There have also been attempts to identify the reaction products of glutaraldehyde with the model compounds 6-aminohexanoic acid and α- N -acetyllysine. The ultraviolet, infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of a purified product, from the reaction of glutaraldehyde, with 6-aminohexanoic acid, has led to postulate those compounds of the type that have a polymeric quaternary pyridinium structure. Basics of the reactions of glutaraldehyde with proteins are discussed in this chapter. Immunogenicity of cytochrome c polymers in rabbits is described. Protein–particle conjugation is also discussed in this chapter.