Patent ID: 7429458

Claim:
A method of binding a compound of interest in an aqueous solution, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a conjugate comprising a bioelastic polypeptide and a binding compound, wherein said binding compound specifically binds said compound of interest, and wherein said bioelastic polypeptide has a transition temperature below which said bioelastic polypeptide is soluble in said solution, and above which said bioelastic polypeptide is insoluble in said solution, wherein said conjugate is a fusion protein, wherein said bioelastic polypeptide is at least 20 amino acids in length, and wherein said binding compound is a protein or peptide; (b) contacting said conjugate to said compound of interest in an aqueous solution so that said compound binds thereto, with said contacting step carried out at a temperature below the transition temperature of said bioelastic polypeptide; and then (c) raising the temperature of said conjugate to a temperature above the transition temperature of said bioelastic polypeptide so that said conjugate separates from said aqueous solution with said compound of interest bound thereto.