title: Agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis methods for molecular mass analysis of 5- to 500-kDa hyaluronan.
abstract: Agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis systems for the molecular mass-dependent separation of hyaluronan (HA) in the size range of approximately 5-500 kDa were investigated. For agarose-based systems, the suitability of different agarose types, agarose concentrations, and buffer systems was determined. Using chemoenzymatically synthesized HA standards of low polydispersity, the molecular mass range was determined for each gel composition over which the relationship between HA mobility and logarithm of the molecular mass was linear. Excellent linear calibration was obtained for HA molecular mass as low as approximately 9 kDa in agarose gels. For higher resolution separation, and for extension to molecular masses as low as approximately 5 kDa, gradient polyacrylamide gels were superior. Densitometric scanning of stained gels allowed analysis of the range of molecular masses present in a sample as well as calculation of weight-average and number-average values. The methods were validated for polydisperse HA samples with viscosity-average molecular masses of 112, 59, 37, and 22 kDa at sample loads of 0.5 μg (for polyacrylamide) to 2.5 μg (for agarose). Use of the methods for electrophoretic mobility shift assays was demonstrated for binding of the HA-binding region of aggrecan (recombinant human aggrecan G1-IGD-G2 domains) to a 150-kDa HA standard.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA.
authors.forename: Shardul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhilocha
authors.forename: Ripal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pandya
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Mihir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tank
authors.forename: Jaclyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: LoBello
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shytuhina
authors.forename: Wenlan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hans-Georg
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Wisniewski
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de la Motte
authors.forename: Mary K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Cowman
mesh_terms: D002021:Buffers; D002138:Calibration; D003720:Densitometry; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel / Q000379:methods*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel / Q000379:methods*; D024202:Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012685:Sepharose / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002021:Buffers; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D012685:Sepharose