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Membrane Chromatography-Based Downstream Processing for Cell-Culture Produced Influenza Vaccines
Zeyu Yang1, Xingge Xu1, Cristina A T Silva1,2
1Viral Vectors and Vaccines Bioprocessing Group, Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.
Vaccines
|August 26, 2022
Summary
A new membrane chromatography method offers a scalable way to purify pandemic influenza vaccines. This approach efficiently removes impurities, providing a promising alternative to current ultracentrifugation techniques for vaccine production.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Virology
- Process Engineering
Background:
- Emerging influenza strains necessitate robust vaccine production methods.
- Current influenza vaccine purification relies on ultracentrifugation, which has limitations.
- Developing efficient bioprocesses is crucial for pandemic preparedness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a membrane chromatography-based downstream processing platform for influenza virus purification.
- To demonstrate the industrial application potential of this novel purification method.
- To evaluate the scalability and effectiveness for different influenza strains.
Main Methods:
- Cell culture-derived influenza viruses (H1N1, H7N9, H3N2) were processed.
- Depth filtration was used for clarification, replacing centrifugation.
- Anion exchange membrane chromatography was employed for viral capture and purification.
Main Results:
- Achieved 41.3-62.5% viral recovery across different strains.
- Successfully removed 86.3-96.5% of host cell DNA.
- Removed 95.5-99.7% of host cell proteins.
- Demonstrated optimized process parameters for pandemic influenza virus strains.
Conclusions:
- The proposed membrane chromatography method is scalable and generic for various influenza strains.
- This technique offers a promising alternative to traditional ultracentrifugation for influenza vaccine purification.
- The developed platform shows significant industrial application potential for vaccine manufacturing.
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