One step flow-through adsorptive purification of tubulin from tissue homogenate

Tubulin, a potential target for anti-cancer drugs, has been purified in one step and obtained as flow-through fraction directly from an extract of a mammalian brain tissue by adsorption chromatography on H-CELBEADS, an indigenously developed rigid, superporous cross-linked cellulose based weakly hydrophobic adsorbent. The fibrous polymerized tubulin mass passed through the H-CELBEADS bed while the associated proteins were separated by adsorption. The final tubulin preparation was obtained free from other proteins as seen on SDS–PAGE. Purified tubulin was obtained in a yield of about 29 mg/100 g brain, and its bioactivity, evaluated through its ability to bind colchicine, was found to be preserved.