Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography

INTRODUCTION

Many scientists use HIC in protein purification as a complement to other techniques that separate according to charge, size, or biospecific recognition. HIC is a good next step after subjecting your samples to ammonium sulfate precipitation (often used for initial sample concentration, and clean-up), or after separation by ion exchange chromatography. In both situations, the sample has a high salt concentration, and you can directly apply it to the HIC column with little or no additional preparation. The elevated salt level enhances the interaction between the hydrophobic components of the sample and the chromatography resin.