Office of Technology Management
Synthesis of
Complex Polyamines for Ampholyte Production
Summary:
Complex
polyamines are crucial for making high resolution ampholytes which are
key reagents for analytical and preparative isoelectric focusing.
Commercial ampholytes which are currently available come in only a limited
number of straight-chain forms. This limits the number of molecular
species of ampholytes that can be produced.
University
of Texas researchers have designed a method of cross-linking lower molecular
weight polyamines in a random fashion in order to generate larger polyamines
with highly complex isomeric forms. Ampholytes made from these polyamines
are far more heterogeneous than currently available ampholytes. The
advantage of using such derivatized polyamines for making ampholytes is
that very narrow pH gradients can be prepared for either analytical or
preparative purposes, and thus exquisitely high resolution of molecules
of very similar isoelectric points is possible.
Technology Status:
This
patent is available for licensing from UT-Houston Health Science Center.
Patent
5,428,116
Scott
Rodkey, Ph.D.