Innovative Chromatography Technologies to be Discussed at Preconference Workshop

Bio-Rad’s Preconference Workshop to Feature Industry Peers and Thought Leaders

Biopharmaceutical researchers from around the globe will discuss innovative chromatographic approaches and technologies for purifying diverse biomolecules during a preconference workshop sponsored by Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. at the BioProcess International Conference & Exhibition in Boston, September 25–28. The workshop will take place at 1 PM on September 25 and focus on strategies for virus and monoclonal antibody purification, viral clearance, and aggregate removal.

“The workshop will bring industry professionals together to discuss how novel chromatography technologies can provide exceptional purification performance and high productivity,” said Carsten Voss, PhD, session chair and Application Specialist for Process Chromatography at Bio-Rad. “These new chromatography techniques can also help biopharma reduce capital costs, space requirements, and cycle time for downstream biotherapeutic purification.”

Workshop speakers will examine the interactions between protein molecules and chromatographic resins, which are critical to making the downstream process more efficient. They will also discuss how to efficiently capture target proteins from expression culture, how to remove and quantify impurities, and how to separate closely related species, such as product degradation fragments and high molecular weight aggregates.

The workshop takes place Monday, September 25, 1–4:30 PM. A networking reception will follow immediately.

Featured Talks and Demonstrations

Improved Resins for Reducing Antibody Aggregates

Giorgio Carta, PhD, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Virginia, will review recent developments in protein purification resins, with an emphasis on separating antibody aggregates by cation exchange chromatography and capturing and purifying large proteins by anion exchange chromatography using polymer-grafted resins.

Carta will present his recent work on the use of novel chromatographic resins to address the problem of protein unfolding on the resin surface, which can give rise to undesirable unfolded intermediates and aggregates.

“The potential for protein unfolding is a major concern during separation processes,” said Carta. “We are investigating novel large-pore resins based on a hydrophilic backbone that can prevent these phenomena and provide a more effective separation.”

He also will discuss how to achieve high dynamic binding capacities in the capture of large biomacromolecules by optimizing the support matrix’s porosity, the grafted polymers, and the mobile phase composition.

Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) for Host Residual DNA Quantification

Biologics manufacturers must demonstrate that the level of host residual DNA (hrDNA) in a purified drug is safe. Current methods for doing so require extracting DNA from biopharmaceuticals purified from bacteria or mammalian cells. Musaddeq Hussain, PhD, Principal Scientist, Merck Research Laboratories, will discuss an extraction-free method in which samples are subjected to digital PCR.

“We are already using direct Droplet Digital PCR methods for several types of hrDNA, such as E. coli and Pichia,” said Hussain. “We show that in some ways ddPCR works better than qPCR for detecting hrDNA.”

Demonstration of Bio-Rad’s New NGC Fraction Collector

Bio-Rad will demonstrate its new NGC Fraction Collector (NGC FC) at the company’s booth (#719). When combined with any model of Bio-Rad’s NGC Chromatography Systems, the NGC FC maximizes workflow efficiency. With the NGC FC researchers can access fractions without stopping a run, allowing faster downstream analysis of purified protein. Both small- and large-scale purification needs can be easily handled by collecting into deep well plates, tubes, bottles, and carboys.

Drug discovery and process development labs can maximize their purification workflow by using the NGC Chromatography Systems with a wide range of process chromatography resins, including best-in-class ion exchange resins and innovative mixed-mode resins.

This article has been republished from materials provided by Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.