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Protein purification using magnetic adsorbent particles

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Abstract

The application of functionalised magnetic adsorbent particles in combination with magnetic separation techniques has received considerable attention in recent years. The magnetically responsive nature of such adsorbent particles permits their selective manipulation and separation in the presence of other suspended solids. Thus, it becomes possible to magnetically separate selected target species directly out of crude biological process liquors (e.g. fermentation broths, cell disruptates, plasma, milk, whey and plant extracts) simply by binding them on magnetic adsorbents before application of a magnetic field. By using magnetic separation in this way, the several stages of sample pretreatment (especially centrifugation, filtration and membrane separation) that are normally necessary to condition an extract before its application on packed bed chromatography columns, may be eliminated. Magnetic separations are fast, gentle, scaleable, easily automated, can achieve separations that would be impossible or impractical to achieve by other techniques, and have demonstrated credibility in a wide range of disciplines, including minerals processing, wastewater treatment, molecular biology, cell sorting and clinical diagnostics. However, despite the highly attractive qualities of magnetic methods on a process scale, with the exception of wastewater treatment, few attempts to scale up magnetic operations in biotechnology have been reported thus far. The purpose of this review is to summarise the current state of development of protein separation using magnetic adsorbent particles and identify the obstacles that must be overcome if protein purification with magnetic adsorbent particles is to find its way into industrial practice.

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Notes

  1. If superconducting coils are used, the field strength in HGMS can reach in excess of 5 T.

  2. Instead of switching the magnet ‘on’ and ‘off’, an alternative is to employ a permanent magnet system with a travelling filter matrix canister that can be mechanically reciprocated in and out of the magnetic field (see Fig. 2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Technical Chemistry, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Hermann v. Helmholtz Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany

    Matthias Franzreb

  2. Institute of Biochemical Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 31, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    Martin Siemann-Herzberg

  3. Center for Microbial Biotechnology, BioCentrum-DTU, Technical University of Denmark, Building 223, Søltofts Plads, DK-2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

    Timothy J. Hobley

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    Owen R. T. Thomas

Authors
  1. Matthias Franzreb
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  2. Martin Siemann-Herzberg
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  3. Timothy J. Hobley
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  4. Owen R. T. Thomas
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Correspondence to Matthias Franzreb.

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Franzreb, M., Siemann-Herzberg, M., Hobley, T.J. et al. Protein purification using magnetic adsorbent particles. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 70, 505–516 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0344-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0344-3

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