BIO09004 2008 PROTEIN PURIFICATION PROCESSING

Design an effective and efficient  downstream process for a protein capture and purification application.

Outline and evaluate the various approaches to primary capture of the target material focusing primarily on affinity chromatography. 

Describe the theory and practice of chromatography for purification applications.

Outline and evaluate the various chromatographic techniques available for purification and their different applications including relative advantages and disadvantages.

Interpret and explain other potential downstream processing technologies such as microfiltration, ultrafiltration, diafiltration,  centrifugation, electrophoresis and viral exclusion techniques. 

Outline and evaluate the main quality control and analytical techniques required for downstream processing.

Describe and critically evaluate the yield calculations for the various purification steps and their implications for overall process economics.

The range of topics covered will include some of the following: intracellular vs. extracellular protein in cell culture; the principles and operation of centrifugation; microfiltration, ultrafiltration, tangential flow filtration, diafiltration; electrophoresis; chromatographic techniques including gel filtration, ion-exchange (AEX and CEX), hydrophobic interaction, affinity-based techniques for both primary capture and protein purification; fluidised bed vs. packed bed design and column scale-up implications; yield calculations for chromatography steps; HETP and asymmetry in chromatography; viral exclusion technologies; quality control and analytical techniques for downstream processing.