Preparation of Concanavalin A-Chelating Magnetic Nanoparticles for Selective Enrichment of Glycoproteins

In this work, a soft and nondestructive approach was developed to prepare concanavalin A-chelating magnetic nanoparticles (Con A-MNPs) for selective enrichment of glycoproteins. Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid-modified-MNPs (EDTA-MNPs) were prepared by a one-pot chemical coprecipitation method first, and then, Cu(II) cations were used as bridge groups to immobilize Con A on EDTA-MNPs. The as-prepared absorbents with a mean diameter of 15 nm showed a strong magnetic response to an externally applied magnetic field. The results of thermogravimetric analysis showed the content of immobilized Con A was up to 28 wt %. For glycoprotein ovalbumin, the maximum capacity and equilibrium constant were 72.41 mg/g and 0.6035 L/mg, respectively. The as-prepared nanocomposites exhibited a remarkable selectivity for glycoproteins and can enrich glycoproteins specifically from a mixture of glycoprotein and nonglycoprotein even at a molar ratio of 1:600. It was also successfully applied for the enrichment of glycoproteins from real egg white samples. We expect that our finding will serve as a helpful template for others to design new adsorbents for enriching glycoproteins.