Lysozyme adsorption onto different supports: A comparative study

The interaction between proteins and solid surfaces has been investigated. The aim of this work is to compare three different materials (hydroxyapatite, polystyrene with core-shell structure (PE-CS) and a functionalized styrene divinylbenzene copolymer) to be used as adsorbents for lysozyme, known as a "hard" protein. Tests were performed according to an experimental design in order to compare the effects of pH, lysozyme and phosphate buffer concentration onto the adsorbed amount of protein. A 2(3) factorial design and a cross design, which was performed in triplicate, were used to distinguish the most important variables and to infer about the interaction between them. Hydroxyapatite showed the best performance-higher adsorbed amount of lysozyme and smaller dispersion (72.2 +/- 0.9 mg/g). However, PE-CS can be regarded as a promising support as high amounts of lysozyme are adsorbed onto this material with relatively small dispersion.