Ultrasonic Effects on Protein Salting-out

The addition of inorganic salts to a bovine serum albumin (BSA) colloid to separate protein is a commonly performed method. In this work, we investigate an enhanced ultrasound process for protein separation. The standing time is 4.5 h shorter than that without ultrasound irradiation. The protein can be acquired at a yield of 90.5% under the conditions of a 20 kHz ultrasound frequency, 60 min of centrifugal separation, and 2 minutes of ultrasound irradiation with a 0.64 W cm(-2) sound intensity. Influences of sound field factors such as frequency, sound intensity and irradiation time on this process are discussed. The mechanism of ultrasonic salting-out of protein is construed. Results show that the settling velocity of protein can be accelerated by ultrasound irradiation after the salting-out process.