There is approximately one HBr or HCl per lysine unit. The HBr/HCl allows it to be a crystalline solid and soluble in water. To remove the HBr/HCl, solubilise the product in a neutral buffer and dialyse away the salts.

• Soluble in water (50 mg/ml) Clear, colorless solution

Poly-L-lysine is a nonspecific attachment factor for cells useful in promoting cell adhesion to solid substrates. Polymers of both D- and L-lysine are used to coat slides. However, certain cells can digest poly-L-lysine; in this situation, poly-D-lysine should be used as the attachment factor so that the cells are not disrupted by excessive uptake of L-lysine. The lower molecular weight poly-lysine (30,000-70,000) is easier to use because it is less viscous in solution; however, the higher molecular weights of poly-lysine have more attachement sites per molecule available to the cells. A compromise between the easier to use lower molecular weight products and the extremely viscous higher molecular weights would be the products in the range of 70,000-150,000.Other applications of Poly-L-lysine include Conjugation to methotrexate for increased drug transport,Microencapsulation of islets ,Use in simple reproducible procedure for chromosomal preparations from a variety of tissues,Immobilation of living cells in biocompatible semipermeable microcapsules,In the preparation of polycationic beads,Conjugation to albumin and horseradish peroxidase to enhance cellular uptake.

Soluble in water (50 mg/ml) Clear, colorless solution