HIC is used to separate proteins on the
basis of relative hydrophobicity. The unique feature of HIC is that proteins
bind at high salt concentration and elute at low salt concentration.By combining HIC with ion exchange or affinity chromatography, the purification of biomolecules can be completed efficiently. While in
reversed phase column chromatography (RPC), desorption is often promoted by the
addition of an increasing amount of organic solvent. Therefore gentle binding and
elution condition of HIC allows a better retaining of the biologic activity of
the target protein than RPC in which organic solvents are applied. The strength of the hydrophobic interaction
is influenced strongly by the nature of the salt components in the mobile
phase. The salt concentration needed depends on the protein hydrophobicity and
solubility. HIC is particularly attractive for protein purification after ion
exchange and affinity chromatography, where the sample with high…