ABSTRACT
High-performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HPHIC) is recognized as a valuable technique for the separation of proteins under non-denaturing conditions. Principles of HPHIC involve an initial weak hydrophobic interaction of the protein with the bonded phase of the stationary silica particles. Steroid receptors, which belong to a family of labile transcriptional factors, appeared to be candidates for separation by hydrophobic interaction chromatography in the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) mode. HPLC of steroid receptors will be incomplete without first giving a description of the preparation of soluble estrogen receptors from target-tissues. The use of sodium molybdate is gaining wide support, mainly because the steroid receptors are labile regulatory proteins which become even more unstable in the partially purified stage. Since the propyl column was hydrophobic, the effect of starting the gradient at a lower ionic strength was analyzed on the basis of the retention of the estrogen receptor molecule.
