An overview of continuous protein purification processes

As the sphere of influence of recombinant technology moves away from the laboratory bench, towards product commercialization, development of manufacturing and large scale process technology is becoming a major challenge and determinant for commercial success. The challenge is particularly acute for protein purification process development where protein purification costs tend to dominate overall process economics. The primary objective for process scale purification is to minimize cost for a purified product which meets specifications. Continuous processes may be used to facilitate achievement of the overall objectives. This review critically examines the use of continuous processing for protein purification and recovery operations. The processes have been divided into three general areas: adsorptive and chromatographic, electrophoretic, and extractive. Consideration is given to the operational advantages and limitations of the reviewed processes.