abstract
- A box-shaped or cuboid packed-bed device was used for monoclonal antibody (mAb) separation using protein A affinity chromatography. The separation efficiency of the device was compared with an equivalent column i.e. packed with same resin, and having identical bed height and bed volume. The protein A media packed cuboid device had a larger number of theoretical plates than its equivalent column, e.g. 8750/m as opposed to about 4700/m at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. In mAb purification experiments, the impurity flow-through and eluted mAb peaks were shaper with the cuboid device. This implied that the effective separation time and buffer consumption with this device was lower, the purified mAb pooled volume was smaller, and the mAb concentration in the pooled volume was greater. Equivalent separation efficiency could be obtained with the cuboid device using higher flow rates than that used with the column. For instance, elution peaks equivalent to those obtainable by the column could be obtained at a 5 times greater flow rate using the cuboid device. The results discussed in this paper clearly demonstrate the potential for improving the efficiency of protein A affinity chromatography based mAb purification by using a cuboid packed-bed device.