A new method for the immobilization of α 1 -acid glycoprotein (AGP) in HPLC columns was recently described for applications such as drug binding studies. Part of this earlier work used self-competition zonal elution studies to measure association equilibrium constants between immobilized AGP and R-or S-propranolol. It was later found that analysis of these data by a common equation derived for linear elution conditions gave erroneous values for experiments actually conducted under nonlinear conditions. This report discusses the nature of this error and uses frontal analysis to estimate the true binding strength between R-and S-propranolol and HPLC columns containing immobilized AGP.A recent paper examined the binding of R-and S-propranolol to a new type of α 1 -acid glycoprotein (AGP) column (1). Part of this earlier work used self-competition zonal elution studies for association equilibrium constant measurements, an approach which has since been noted to contain some errors that are not uncommon in the literature but that do need to be corrected to better estimate the true binding strength of R-and S-propranolol with AGP.The column used in Ref.(1) was prepared through the controlled and mild oxidation of AGP, followed by the immobilization of this protein to hydrazide-activated silica. Part of this paper evaluated binding of this AGP column to R-and S-propranolol by using a self-competition zonal elution experiment (i.e., the "perturbation method", "step and pulse method" or "system peak" method) (2-4). In this approach, a small sample of R-or S-propranolol was injected as a pulse onto the AGP column while a known, fixed concentration of the same compound was applied in the mobile phase as a competing agent. The resulting shift in the retention factor (k') for the observed peak was measured as a function of the mobile phase concentration of the analyte [A]. Plots of 1/k' versus [A] appeared to give a linear response for mobile phases containing 0 to 5 µM propranolol.In these experiments (1), association equilibrium constants were obtained by fitting the data to an equation from the literature that pertains to an analyte at infinite dilution, or "linear elution conditions" (see Eq. 1 in Ref. 1 and equivalent equations in Refs. 5 and 6). However, for an analyte at a finite concentration, this same equation can introduce errors when obtaining *Author for correspondence: Phone 402-472-2744; FAX 402-472-9402; Email, dhage@unlserve.unl.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
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