How to purify IgY?

Bulk precipitation methods:

ammonium sulfate precipitation (Schwarzkopf and Thiele 1996)

dextran sulfate precipitation (Jensenius 1981)

polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation (Polson and Wechmar 1980)

A waste disposal should be considered when using methods below:

caprylic acid extraction (McLaren et al. 1994)

chloroform extraction/PEG combined extraction (Polson 1990)

propanol-aceton extraction (Bade and Stegemann 1984)

Commercially available kits and matrixes (different capacity to process egg yolk):

EGGstractTM kit (Promega)

EggcellentTM Chicken IgY Purification Kit (Pierce)

IMSORB Anti IgY (Biotez)

HiTrap® IgY purification (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech)

Industrial scale methods

Column and ultrafiltration method (Kim and Nakai 1996, 1998)

Recommended Literature

This manual contains detailed protocols of IgY purification by different methods as well as trouble shooting.
"Chicken Egg Yolk Antibodies, Production and Application" R. Schade et al.2000, Springer-Verlag, Lab Manuals, ISBN 3-540-66679-6.

"Isolation and Purification of Chicken Egg Yolk immunoglobulins: A review" B. De Meulenaer and A. Huyghebaert 2001, Food and Agricultural Immunology, 13:275-288.