Fractionation of Amino Acid Mixtures in Acetone by Means of Alkyl Acid Phosphates. ∗

Abstract

Summary

Seven alkyl acid phosphates have been found able to solvate amino acids in dry acetone. Marked differences in solvating power are shown by these reagents for individual amino acids, and for selective solvation of amino acids from complex mixtures such as a protein hydrolysate. Mixtures of amino acids greatly influence each others' solubility when fractionation is effected by the method described.

When systems consisting of aeetone-amino acid-solvating reagent, are neutralized with triethylamine, amino acids are precipitated) but never quantitatively. Marked differences occur in the extent to which the dissolved amino acids precipitate with this treatment; e.g. 90% were precipitated from the n-propyl, as against but 45% from the isopropyl system, when the amino acids were solvated from a dry casein hydrolysate.

These reagents offer prospects for usefulness in the fractionation of amino acid mixtures.