Item

Abstract

Octyl β-d-glucoside was synthetized from α-acetobromoglucose with an improved method yielding a very pure product with a sharp melting point (108–109°C) and free of intermediate products as judged by IR and NMR spectra. The yield of the synthesis is 66% when referred to α-acetobromoglucose. The potency of this compound as a detergent on hog kidney brush border membranes was compared to the action of Triton X-100. Octyl glucoside preferentially extracts aminopeptidase M and γ-glutamyltrans-peptidase in a concentration-dependent manner. The more deeply imbedded membrane enzyme, alkaline phosphatase, was relatively resistent to the action of octyl glucoside. In contrast, Triton X-100 extracted all membrane proteins to about the same extent. Additionally it was found that octyl glucoside can be removed from membrane extracts by Biobead SM 2. The capacity of the beads is about 170 mg detergent/g of dry Biobead SM 2. Thus octyl glucoside seems to be a useful tool for solubilization and purification of brush border membranes proteins.