Affinity chromatography in the industrial purification of plasma proteins for therapeutic use

Affinity chromatography is a powerful technique for the purification of man y proteins in human plasma. Applications cover the isolation of proteins fo r research purposes but also, to a large extent, for the production of ther apeutic products. In industrial plasma fractionation, affinity chromatograp hy has been found to be particularly advantageous for fine and rapid captur e of plasma proteins from industrial plasma fractions pre-purified by ethan ol fractionation or by ion-exchange chromatography. To date, affinity chrom atography is being used in the production of various licensed therapeutic p lasma products, such as the concentrates of Factor VIII, Factor IX, von Wil lebrand Factor, Protein C, Antithrombin III, and Factor XI. Most commonly u sed ligands are heparin, gelatin, murine antibodies, and, to a lesser exten t, Cu2+. Possible development of the use of affinity chromatography in indu strial plasma fractionation should be associated to the current development of phage display and combinatorial chemistry. Both approaches may lead to the development of tailor-made synthetic ligands that would allow implement ation of protein capture technology, providing improved productivity and yi eld for plasma products. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.