Conceptual design of a cellular filter to remove trace viral contaminants in blood

Various process alternatives and designs of using a filter containing cellular adsorbents to remove trace viral contaminants from blood and other protein solutions have been studied. Sterilization charts have been developed that can be used to estimate the filter size required to achieve a desired sterilization criterion. A parametric study was carried out to identify various process parameters that may affect this physical trace removal process. It has been demonstrated that the adsorption rate constant is a critical parameter in the design of an efficient cellular filter for viral contaminant removal. This constant is characteristic of the virus-cell system under consideration and is shown to be particularly sensitive to the cell surface receptor density, adsorbent diameter, and fluid flow rate. Higher log titer reduction in virus concentrations can be achieved with low flow rates and no recycle. Preliminary analyses indicate the feasibility of using a magnetically stabilized fluidized filter (MSFF) reactor design for effective virus removal from these complex solutions.