(279d) The Effects of Substrate Morphology on Protein Binding and Elution for Responsive Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography Applications

Current resin based hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is a purification operation used in the production of biopharmaceuticals based on differences in hydrophobicity among products and impurities. The current technology can suffer from protein denaturation, low product yields, the possibility of high pressure and lengthy processing time. Membrane based responsive HIC has been investigated previously for protein purification in a bind-and-elute mode to overcome these limitations. The surface of these responsive HIC is grafted with polymeric ligands with tunable hydrophobicity. Poly (N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) is a prototype thermo- and salt- responsive polymer that can switch its conformation between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic states in response to environmental stimuli. However, the binding capacity and recovery of these responsive HIC remain the major bottleneck for the industrial applications. In order to further improve the protein binding capacity and recovery, substrates with different surface to volume ratios for immobilizing the HIC ligands were investigated using the advanced electrospinning and 3-D printing technologies. Significant increase in binding capacity and recovery compared to the flat surfaces has been achieved.