NHS-Activated Agarose Resin

NHS-activated agarose resin is a pre-activated chromatography support used for the covalent immobilization of ligands that contain primary amines, enabling researchers to create custom affinity resins. The resin consists of cross-linked agarose beads functionalized with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester groups, typically presented at the end of a spacer arm. These NHS esters are highly reactive toward primary amine groups—the lysine side chains and N-terminal α-amine found in proteins, antibodies, peptides, and other amine-containing molecules—and react spontaneously under mild conditions to form stable, covalent amide bonds. BiCell Scientific’s NHS-activated affinity resin uses 4% highly cross-linked agarose matrix with a mean size of 90 μm and capable of operating under 0.1 MPa (1 bar/14.5 psi). The hydrophilic nature of the matrix ensures low levels of non-specific binding leading to low levels of host cell-derived impurities in the elution pool. This resin binds 5-10 mg trypsin/mL resin and is suitable for use in batch mode, with gravity flow, or using a chromatography system.