Scalability of Sartobind® Rapid A Membrane for High Productivity Monoclonal Antibody Capture

Purification of monoclonal antibodies using novel 3D printed ordered stationary phases

3D printing offers the unprecedented ability to fabricate chromatography stationary phases with bespoke 3D morphology as opposed to traditional packed beds of spherical beads. The restricted range of printable materials compatible with chromatography is considered a setback for its industrial implementation. Recently, we proposed a novel ink that exhibits favourable printing performance (printing time ∼100 mL/h, resolution ∼200 µm) and broadens the possibilities for a range of chromatography applications thanks to its customisable surface chemistry. In this work, this ink was used to fabricate 3D printed ordered columns with 300 µm channels for the capture and polishing of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. The columns were initially assessed for leachables and extractables, revealing no material propensity for leaching. Columns were then functionalised with protein A and SO3 ligands to obtain affinity and strong cation exchangers, respectively. 3D printed protein A columns showed >85 % IgG recovery from harvested cell culture fluid with purities above 98 %. Column reusability was evaluated over 20 cycles showing unaffected performance. Eluate samples were analysed for co-eluted protein A fragments, host cell protein and aggregates. Results demonstrate excellent HCP clearance (logarithmic reduction value of > 2.5) and protein A leakage in the range of commercial affinity resins (<100 ng/mg). SO3 functionalised columns employed for polishing achieved removal of leaked Protein A (down to 10 ng/mg) to meet regulatory expectations of product purity. This work is the first implementation of 3D printed columns for mAb purification and provides strong evidence for their potential in industrial bioseparations.

Rapid purification of mAb using protein a membranes yielding high HCP clearance

Protein A chromatography remains the crucial step in mAb purification because of the high binding specificity and impurity clearance. In recent years, highly productive membrane adsorbers emerged as an alternative to traditional resins allowing for rapid purification of biomolecules. In this study, we tested three commercially available protein A membranes (Sartobind® Rapid A, HiTrap Fibro™ PrismA and GORE™ Protein Capture Device) regarding flow distribution, permeability and binding performance. As an application study using a cell-culture supernatant (CCS) containing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), acidic and high pH wash steps were investigated regarding recovery and impurity removal. All membranes proved their applicability as highly productive capture media leading to high HCP and DNA removal with no observable influence on recovery. GORE™ Protein Capture Device exhibited a superior flow distribution but revealed diffusional limitations at high flow rates. Sartobind® Rapid A and HiTrap Fibro™ PrismA showed binding capacities of ∼ 40 g/L even at residence times (RTs) < 12 s but were limited by hydrodynamics suggesting room for improvement with optimized membrane housing.