Tiered fluid pump system and arrangement

Abstract

A protein purification system for use in a laboratory or manufacturing setting, such system employing a series of nested carts for a vertical arrangement of pumps and other components to minimize the floorspace required for locating the system while allowing it to operate.

Description

PATENT APPLICATIONTITLETiered fluid pump system and arrangementCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.63 / 657,545, filed June 7, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] Known protein purification systems for use in laboratories or manufacturing typically employ a series of pumps to move protein products, buffers and other fluids through the system. Arranging pumps in order, either horizontally or through series of columns, tends to require a significant amount of lab space. What is needed is a system employing an arrangement of pumps and other system components that maximizes the efficiency of floor space usage by allowing components to be stacked vertically.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Figure 1 shows a protein purification system employing the novel component arrangement of the system.

[0004] Figure 2 shows an alternate view of the system arrangement of Fig. 1.

[0005] Figure 3 shows a system unit.

[0006] Figure 4 shows two different sized pumps: smaller pumps (top) and larger pumps (bottom)DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Provided herein are compositions and methods for arranging components of a system, such as a protein purification system, so that space required for storage and / or operation of the system is minimized and so that one or more components of the system are easily moveable. In certain embodiments, provided is a system comprising a first cart on which may rest a system unit that, among other things, provides control for a purification system, e.g., protein purification system, and one or more second carts on which may rest one or more pumps for use in the purification system, wherein both the first and second carts are configured to be easilymoveable (e.g., wheeled carts), and the one or more second carts are configured to nest below the first cart. In some cases, a plurality of second carts, e.g., 2, 3, or 4, second carts nest adjacent to each other as well as below the first cart. In some cases, the system also comprises one or more third carts on which may rest one or more pumps for use in the purification system, wherein the one or more third carts are configured to be easily moveable and to nest below the second carts. In some cases, a plurality of third carts, e.g., 2, 3, or 4, third carts nest adjacent to each other as well as below the second cart. In certain embodiments, a plurality of second carts nest below the system unit cart, and a single third cart nests below each second cart. The system may also include the system unit that rests on the first cart, and / or one or more pumps resting on each of the second and third carts, e.g., so that all of the second and third carts comprise at least one pump, in some cases two pumps, in some cases more than two pumps. In certain embodiments each pump cart comprises two pumps. Because the carts are easily moveable, they can easily be arranged in a desired configuration for a particular purification. They can also be moved into a storage area between uses, or to another area, e.g., another room. In general, the purification process, e.g., protein purification process, moves product sequentially from one stage to another, where each stage performs a step to purify or otherwise treat product and provides buffer for one or more of the stages, e.g., for all of the stages. Thus, in certain embodiments, provided are pairs of product pump and buffer pump or pumps on carts, each one for use in a different stage of the process. Pumps can be sized according to desired volume to be processed, e.g., in a day, such as pumps to provide 500-15,000 L / day. Each purification stage can be fluidly connected to its respective product and buffer pumps, where the stages comprise apparatus for a purification or treatment step in the overall purification process. In addition, in some cases a system may further comprise a human machine interface (HMI) to allow a user to, e.g., input desired parameters for a purification run, where the HMI is also configured to be easily moveable, e.g., on wheels.

[0008] A stage may perform any suitable operation, e.g., diafiltration, filtration, chromatography (e.g., dual column chromatography), inline concentration, or viral inactivation. Any suitable number of stages may be used to provide the desired purification and treatment, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or more than 8 stages. A first system provided herein may have the capacity to supply up to 4 stages with necessary pumping capacity; if more than 4 stages are required for a purification, a second system may be fluidly connected to the first and supply the necessary pumping capacity for the remaining stages; typically, the second system will also have its own system unit.

[0009] The pumps and system unit are configured to minimize the amount of floor spacerequired to employ the system in a lab or manufacturing setting. By arranging the system components on a series of carts, and nesting the carts and the components they hold within one another, it becomes possible to substantially reduce the square footage required for an operational system. With the arrangement provided herein, a given lab or manufacturing area might double or even triple the number of systems that can operate within the available floorspace.

[0010] Figures 1 and 2 show an exemplary system and arrangement, including four pump carts 10, each of which can hold two pumps 20 for a total of eight pumps, and a system unit cart 30 which is shown holding a system unit 40. As shown, the system unit cart (first cart) has a height sufficient to allow two upper pump carts (second carts) to nest below it and each upper pump cart has a height sufficient to allow a lower pump cart (third cart) to nest below it. All carts comprise wheels to allow for easy movement. Also shown is a wheeled HMI. Figure 3 shows a system unit. Figure 4 shows a pair of smaller pumps (top) and larger pumps (bottom). In particular, the figures show two pumps per cart, with eight total pumps resting on four total carts. The pumps are arranged with two buffer pumps on an upper buffer pump cart, two buffer pumps on a lower buffer pump cart, two product pumps on an upper product pump cart and two product pumps on a lower product pump cart. As shown, the lower carts next within and underneath the upper carts to maximize efficiency of space usage. Thus, Figures 1 and 2 show a four-stage protein purification system with four product pumps and four buffer pumps, and a system unit containing automation hardware, instrumentation and valves for running and controlling the four stages, e.g., running all stages simultaneously in a continuous flow protein purification system. However, it will be appreciated that the system can be modified as needed for fewer, e.g., two or three, or more, e.g., five, six, or more than six stages. In general, a main system unit can operate a maximum of four stages. In certain embodiments, a protein purification setup that requires more than four stages comprises two or more of the systems described herein wherein a maximum of four stages are provided by each system, e.g., a setup that requires six stages may comprise a first system comprising four stages operably connected to a second system comprising two stages, or a first and second system, each comprising three stages, or a first system comprising two stages operably connected to a second system comprising four stages. This is merely exemplary and it will be appreciated that purification setups with more than four stages can comprise any suitable number of stages, e.g., 5, 6, 7, 8, or more than 8, and the purification setup can be divided between systems as described herein so that any suitable number of stages, up to a maximum of four, can be used in each system. The first system is operably connected to a source of material to be purified and pumps thematerial through its stages, and the second system is operably connected to the first and receives the product of the stages of the first system and pumps material through its stages to provide a final purified product. In certain embodiments, a main system unit can operate more than four stages, such as 5, 6, 7, 8, or more than 8 stages, and pumps and main system unit arranged accordingly, e.g., vertically, for each system. In alternate embodiments, the system may employ two or more total carts, and may extend vertically as high as a ceiling. In certain embodiments the system further comprises a moveable cart for holding one or more components to modify a raw feed into the rest of the system, e.g., one or more of a pressure regulator, bubble trap, flow meter, and / or pressure sensors.

[0011] In certain embodiments, provided is a system as described above wherein the pumps are fluidly connected to a plurality of purification stages, such as two, or three, or four stages, in series, wherein the each purification stage comprises diafiltration, filtration, chromatography (e.g., dual column chromatography), inline concentration, or viral inactivation. In addition, a vessel may be fluidly connected to the output of one stage and the input of the next. In some cases, each vessel may rest on a weight sensor. The apparatus for each of the four stages may also be moveable, so that it is easy to arrange any desired series of purification stages and the necessary pumps and system unit(s) for a desired purification scheme with little effort. Apparatus for one or of the purification stages may also be moved, e.g., to another area, along with the required pumps etc., e.g., for storage, or for use in another lab or manufacturing area.

[0012] In certain embodiments, provided is a method of storing pumps for a protein purification system comprising moving one or more nesting carts on each of which rest one or more pumps as well as a cart on which rests a system unit, from a laboratory or manufacturing set-up to a storage area, wherein the carts nest to minimize storage floor space. For example, one or more first pump carts may nest below the system unit cart, and one or more second pump carts may nest below the first pump carts. The method may also include disconnecting the pumps and the system unit from one or more purification stages prior to storage.

[0013] The references recited herein are incorporated herein in their entirety, particularly as they relate to teaching the level of ordinary skill in this art and for any disclosure necessary for the commoner understanding of the subject matter of the claimed invention. It will be clear to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the above embodiments may be altered or that insubstantial changes may be made5 without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is determined by the scope of the following claims and their equitable equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A protein purification system or similar system for fluid treatment and an associated arrangement wherein system components and pumps are arranged on a plurality of carts or platforms, wherein the carts or platforms nest within one another, allowing the system to operate while its components and pumps are arranged vertically with respect to one another.

2. The protein purification system and arrangement of claim 1, wherein the system comprises an upper product pump cart, a lower product pump cart, an upper buffer pump cart, a lower buffer pump cart, and a system unit cart.

3. The protein purification system and arrangement of claim 1 or 2, wherein certain carts are arranged adjacent to one another and certain carts are nested within one another.

4. The protein purification system of claim 3 wherein the lower buffer pump carts are nested below the upper buffer pump carts, which are nested below the system unit cart.

5. The protein purification system and arrangement of any previous claim wherein each pump cart supports two pumps and the system unit cart supports a system unit.

6. A protein purification system and arrangement as shown in the attached Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, including a plurality carts, each such cart to hold one or more pumps or other system components, such carts to nest within one another to create two or more vertical levels.

7. A method of arranging a a protein purification system or similar system of fluid treatment, comprising the steps:(i) providing one or more pumps on a pump cart;(ii) providing one or more system units on a system unit cart;(iii) nesting the carts one under another and / or adjacent to one another until two or more vertical levels containing pump(s) and system unit(s) is met; and(iv) attaching all system unit(s) and pump(s) to one another with fluid lines to allow transfer of fluids through the entire system.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein at least two carts are nested adjacent to each other.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8 wherein at least two carts are nested under another.

10. The method of any of claims 7 through 9 wherein the pumps comprise buffer pumps and product pumps.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising each buffer pump and product pump to a purification stage of a plurality of purification stages in sequence.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein each stage of the plurality of purification stages comprises diafiltration, filtration, chromatography (e.g., dual column chromatography), inline concentration, or viral inactivation

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