Patent ID: 6881586

Claim:
A method for preparative purification of an analyte from an impure sample comprising the steps of: a) identifying a selectivity condition under which the analyte is retained by: i) exposing the sample to a substrate under a plurality of different selectivity conditions, each selectivity condition defined by a combination of an adsorbent and an eluant, wherein exposing comprises (I) contacting the sample with an adsorbent bound to a substrate; and (II) washing unbound analyte from the adsorbent with the eluant to allow retention of analytes on the adsorbent; and ii) detecting a selectivity condition under which the analyte is retained by laser desorption mass spectrometry; and b) purifying the analyte by: i) contacting the sample with a chromatography column comprising an adsorbent identified using the process recited in step (a) to retain the analyte under the identified selectivity condition; ii) washing unbound material from the chromatography column; and iii) eluting the analyte from the chromatography column; whereby the analyte is purified.