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Derivatives of N6-(4-aminobenzyl)adenosine (substituted at the aminobenzyl group) and 5'-linked derivatives of N6-(4-nitrobenzyl)adenosine (NBAdo) were evaluated as inhibitors of site-specific binding of [3H]nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR) to pig erythrocyte membranes. Potent inhibitors were SAENTA [5'-S-(2-aminoethyl)-N6-(4-nitrobenzyl)-5'-thioadenosine] and acetyl-SAENTA (the 2-acetamidoethyl derivative of SAENTA). SAENTA was coupled to derivatized agarose-gel beads (Affi-Gel 10) to form an affinity matrix for chromatographic purification of NBMPR-binding polypeptides, which in pig erythrocytes are part of, or are associated with, the equilibrative nucleoside transporter. When pig erythrocyte membranes were solubilized with octyl glucoside (n-octyl beta-D-glucopyranoside) and applied to SAENTA-Affi-Gel 10 (SAENTA-AG10), polypeptides that migrated as a broad band on SDS/PAGE with an apparent molecular mass of 58-60 kDa were selectively retained by the affinity gel. These polypeptides were identified as components of the nucleoside transporter of pig erythrocytes by reactivity with a monoclonal antibody (mAb 11C4) that recognizes the NBMPR-binding protein of pig erythrocytes. Retention of the immunoreactive polypeptides by SAENTA-AG10 was blocked by NBAdo. The immunoreactive polypeptides were released from SAENTA-AG10 by elution under denaturing conditions with 1% SDS or by elution with detergent solutions containing competitive ligands (NBAdo or NBMPR). A 72-fold enrichment of the immunoreactive polypeptides was achieved by a single passage of solubilized, protein-depleted membranes through a column of SAENTA-AG10, followed by elution with detergent solutions containing NBAdo. These results demonstrate that polypeptide components of NBMPR-sensitive nucleoside-transport systems may be partly purified by affinity chromatography using gel media bearing SAENTA groups.