Acid Phosphatases

WE have been concerned with the isolation of acid phosphatases (orthophosphoric monoester phosphohydrolases, 3.1.3.2.) in quantities sufficient for chemical studies of these enzymes. The sources chosen were: the potato, the human prostate gland and human seminal plasma. We have found that the potato is a poor source and, although the enzyme has been obtained in a form which is homogeneous to starch-gel electrophoresis and to ultracentrifugation, the method is tedious and, because of the very large purification factor involved (about 25,000), leads to a low final yield (about 10 mg from 50 kg of potatoes). The best preparation previously reported was apparently associated with a purification factor of about 1,000 (ref. 1).