AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY.

Affinity chromatography is usually realized by covalently linking a binding molecule, called the ligand, to an insoluble support and packing the support into a column. Such biospecific adsorption can be applied where any particular ligand interacts specifically with a biomolecule, for example in the purification of enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids, vaccines and vitamins, to name a few. The method has inherent advantages over the classical techniques of protein and biomolecule purification because it is essentially a single-step procedure which provides with rapidity both high yield and high resolution of the purified species. This review highlights the major components of biospecific adsorption in order to acquaint the reader with the basics of the technique.