What property of GFP is exploited during the purification process?

The property of GFP that is primarily exploited during the purification process is its hydrophobicity. GFP contains hydrophobic regions that enable it to interact with hydrophobic surfaces in various purification techniques, such as affinity chromatography. This is particularly effective because GFP can be tagged with specific ligands that bind to the hydrophobic areas, allowing the protein to be separated from other cellular components based on its attraction to these surfaces.

Using hydrophobic interactions for purification takes advantage of the tendency of GFP to aggregate or bind to hydrophobic materials in a way that is often more efficient than methods that rely solely on other properties like molecular weight or light absorption. These alternative methods may not provide the specificity or efficiency seen with hydrophobic interaction chromatography, where hydrophobicity is the driving factor for separation. This makes the purification of GFP not only effective but also straightforward in laboratory settings, leading to higher yields and purity levels.