Fluidized bed adsorption as a primary recovery step in protein purification

Fluidized bed adsorption has been introduced as an integrative technology combining clarification, concentration, and initial purification in a single step. In the paper presented here, the use of fluidized adsorbents in the primary recovery of proteins starting from unclarified broths is reviewed. First the principle of fluidizing adsorbent particles is discussed, subsequently possible experimental procedures for whole broth adsorption are demonstrated. The system parameters governing the performance of the sorption process in a fluidized bed are discussed in the second part of the paper and considerations on how operating parameters and process design influence the limiting steps are provided. Finally, examples for the successful operation of whole broth adsorption employing fluidized adsorbents are shown and conditions are defined under which this technology may be an alternative to traditional protein purification methods.