Membrane ion-exchange chromatography for process-scale antibody purification

The large-scale production of recombinant monoclonal antibodies demands eco nomical purification processes with high throughputs. The potential for ion -exchange membrane adsorbers to replace traditional ion-exchange columns wa s evaluated. Breakthrough capacities of commercially available cation-excha nge membranes were determined as a function of Row-rate and layer number. D ue to economic and process restrictions, cation-exchange membranes may not currently be advantageous for process-scale antibody purification in a bind and elute mode. However, anion-exchange membranes in a how-through mode ma y provide a reasonable alternative to columns for the removal of low levels of impurities such as DNA, host cell protein, and virus. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.