AccScience Publishing / JBM / Online First / DOI: 10.14440/jbm.2025.0109
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Incorporating ultrafiltration into Protein A membrane chromatography as a strategy to reduce elution volume and buffer consumption

Gaoya Yuan1 Meng Qu1 Xudong Zhang1* Yifeng Li1*
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1 Downstream Process Development (DSPD), WuXi Biologics, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
Submitted: 24 October 2024 | Revised: 11 December 2024 | Accepted: 24 December 2024 | Published: 10 April 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Background: Protein A chromatography is widely used for antibody purification. With conventional packed-bed columns, mass transfer within resin beads is diffusion-limited, entailing long residence time to achieve high binding capacities. Recently, several vendors have introduced Protein A membranes as alternatives to traditional Protein A resins/columns. These membranes feature open pore structures that facilitate the convective transport of protein molecules, enabling high binding capacities within significantly shorter residence time. The use of Protein A membranes can improve throughput, eliminate the need for column packing, and reduce cost. These advantages notwithstanding, Protein A membranes present certain drawbacks. A major limitation is their high dead volume-to-stationary phase ratio, which leads to larger elution volumes compared to their conventional counterparts. This results in significant eluate dilution and increased buffer consumption. Objective: In the current study, we aimed to demonstrate that ultrafiltration (UF), when used in combination with Protein A membrane chromatography, can address these limitations by allowing eluate concentration and buffer reuse. Methods: A laboratory model of UF integrated Protein A membrane was set up to test the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy. Results: Integrated UF effectively concentrated Protein A membrane eluate to a concentration comparable to that of Protein A column eluate. In addition, reuse of pH-adjusted UF filtrate as elution buffer reduces buffer consumption by 50%. Conclusion: UF integration is an effective solution for addressing the problem of increased elution volume and buffer consumption associated with Protein A membrane.

Keywords
Elution volume
Buffer consumption
Dead volume
Protein A membrane
Ultrafiltration
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest, financial, or otherwise.
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Journal of Biological Methods, Electronic ISSN: 2326-9901 Print ISSN: TBA, Published by POL Scientific