Polymeric Purification Columns for Low-Pressure Convective Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing chromatography methods face challenges in large-scale purification due to high pressure requirements, deformation of gel beads, and limitations in flow characteristics, making them unsuitable for processing large volumes of delicate biomolecules.
Innovation Solution
The development of a polymeric separation matrix with uniform thickness and porosity, allowing convective flow and low pressure operation, which is formed by casting a gellable polymer onto an inert porous support, and assembled into devices that facilitate high flow rates and efficient binding and release of molecules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If packed gel bead columns are used for large-scale purification, then purification capacity is improved, but pressure requirements increase to thousands of PSI causing bead deformation and collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous monolithic support structure with interconnected pores that allow fluid flow while maintaining mechanical integrity. This porous architecture provides both the capacity for large-scale purification and the structural strength to withstand operating pressures without deformation, eliminating the need for thousands of PSI required by packed gel bead columns.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite structure by immobilizing purification media (such as antibodies or ligands) onto a rigid monolithic support framework. This composite approach combines the high capacity of soft gel materials with the mechanical strength of a rigid monolithic structure, enabling large-scale purification at moderate pressures without bead collapse.
2Quantity of substance
If packed gel bead columns are used, then purification capacity is improved, but flow characteristics become unfavorable requiring high pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The monolithic support structure features a controlled porous network with interconnected pores of optimized size and distribution. This porous architecture provides extensive surface area for purification capacity while maintaining open channels for favorable flow characteristics, enabling high flow rates at low pressure without the need for high-pressure pumping required by packed columns.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes parameters including pore size, pore volume, and surface area-to-volume ratio of the monolithic structure to achieve the desired balance between purification capacity and flow rate. By adjusting these parameters during monolith synthesis, the system achieves high capacity with favorable flow characteristics that do not require high pressure to maintain productivity.
3Productivity
If high pressure is applied to packed columns to achieve meaningful fluid flow, then flow rate is improved, but gel beads deform and collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The monolithic structure is designed with a segmented or hierarchical pore network that distributes flow stress throughout the structure. This segmentation allows fluid to flow through multiple pathways, reducing localized stress concentration and preventing bead deformation while maintaining high fluid flow rates at low pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical packing system of individual gel beads with a continuous monolithic framework. This substitution eliminates the need for high-pressure mechanical forcing required to move fluid through packed beds, as the monolithic structure provides inherent flow pathways that maintain structural integrity at low operating pressures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables efficient large-scale purification of biomolecules with consistent performance, reducing pressure requirements and ensuring uniform binding and release characteristics, suitable for applications in biotechnology and environmental cleanup.
Implementation Method 1
a gellable polymer is added into the lumen of a vertically oriented cylindrical inert porous support; Placing a cylindrical rod concentrically with the major axis of the cylindrical inert porous support into the lumen of the cylindrical inert porous support
Implementation Method 2
The literature is therefore replete withscientific articles, text books, and patents on chromatography techniques. These techniques are sometimes referred to by the functionality of the chromatographic media
Implementation Method 3
Chromatography and chromatographic columns are utilized in the vast majority of analytical and biological laboratories
Data Source
AI summary
Devices and associated processes suitable for small and large scale purification of molecules in a fluid, and provides embodiments that overcome the difficulties of transitioning purification from research stages to production scale-up. The invention relates to the formation and characteristics of substantially uniform, continuous, and homogeneous porous separation matrices. The matrices are in the form of a polymeric layer with substantially uniform thickness and porosity. The polymeric layer is formed for the purpose of providing convective flow through the separation matrix.