Refolding of Fusion Ferritin by Gel Filtration Chromatography(GFC)

Fusion ferritin (heavy chain ferritin, $F_H+$ light chain ferritin, $F_L$), an iron-binding protein, was primarily purified from recombinant Escherichia coli by two-step sonications with urea [1]. Unfolded ferritin was refolded by gel filtration chromatography (GFC) with refolding enhancer, where 50 mM Na-phosphate (pH 7.4) buffer containing additives such as Tween 20, PEG, and L-arginine was used. Ferritin is a multimeric protein that contains approximately 20 monomeric units for full activity. Fusion ferritin was expressed in the form of inclusion bodies (IBs). The IBs were initially solubilized in 4 M urea denaturant. The refolding process was then performed by decreasing the urea concentration on the GFC column to form protein multimers. The combination of the buffer-exchange effect of GFC and the refolding enhancers in refolding buffer resulted in an efficient route for producing properly folded fusion ferritin.