A high performance liquid chromatography assay for the rapid analysis of the subunit content of concanavalin A

Abstract A high performance liquid chromatography system is described which provides a rapid and convenient assay for the relative amounts of intact (26 000 dalton) and fragmented (14 000 and 12 000 dalton) subunits present in preparations of concanavalin A. Analyses were performed on an HPLC size exlusions column using either 8 M urea or 6 M guanidine hydrochloride as denaturing eluents. The efficiency and resolving power of this technique were confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This HPLC assay facilitated the monitoring of the purification of concanavalin A to prepare a homogeneous preparation necessary for its biological evaluation.