Publications
2013
B. Gabor, U. Černigoj, M. Barut, A. Štrancar
Journal of Chromatography A, 1311 (2013) 106-114
HPLC based analytical assay is a powerful technique that can be used to efficiently monitor plasmid DNA (pDNA) purity and quantity throughout the entire purification process. Anion exchange monolithic and non-porous particle based stationary phases were used to study the recovery of the different pDNA isoforms from the analytical column. Three differently sized pDNA molecules of 3.0 kbp, 5.2 kbp and 14.0 kbp were used. Plasmid DNA was injected onto columns under the binding conditions and the separation of the isoforms took place by increasing the ionic strength of the elution buffer. While there was no substantial decrease of the recovered supercoiled and linear isoforms of the pDNA with the increase of the plasmid size and with the increase of the flow rate (recoveries in all cases larger than 75%), a pronounced decrease of the oc isoform recovery was observed. The entrapment of the oc pDNA isoform occurred under non-binding conditions as well. The partial oc isoform elution from the column could be achieved by decreasing the flow rate of the elution mobile phase. The results suggested a reversible entrapment of the oc isoform in the restrictions within the pores of the monolithic material as well as within the intra-particle space of the non-porous particles. This phenomenon was observed on both types of the stationary phase morphologies and could only be connected to the size of a void space through which the pDNA needs to migrate. A prediction of reversible pDNA entrapment was successfully estimated with the calculation of Peclet numbers, Pe, which defines the ratio between a convective and diffusive mass transport.
M. Limonta, N. Lendero Krajnc, U. Vidic, L. Zumalacárregui
Biochemical Engineering Journal 80 (2013) 14-18
The pIDKE2 plasmid is the main component of the CIGB's candidate vaccine against Hepatitis C virus (HVC), which is being used in HCV chronically-infected individuals during clinical trials phase 1 and 2. The designed downstream process of pIDKE2 plasmid produces up to 179 g/year. In order to conduct further improvements, modelling of the downstream process was performed. A methodology based on process analysis tools, such as experimental design and modelling was established to identify factors with the highest influence on production cost and the amount of annual plasmid. Taking into account that the pIDKE2 downstream process designed is in its initial stages of development, CIM technology was evaluated as a new manufacturing process on lab scale. Purity and recovery of CIM technology was better than porous particle matrix, thus SuperPro Designer was used in order to simulate the purification process. Cost efficiency optimization of the pIDKE2 downstream process was done with the simulation model.
P. Fagan, C. Wijesundera
Journal of Separation Science, 10.1002/jssc.201201156
Eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids are important bio-active fatty acids in fish oils. Monolithic HPLC columns both in the polymeric cation exchange (silver-ion) and RP formats were compared with corresponding packed columns for the isolation of these acids from tuna oil ethyl esters. Monolithic columns in both formats enabled rapid (typically 5–10 min) separations compared with packed columns (30 min). Polymeric monolithic silver-ion disc column rapidly furnished mixtures of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic esters (90% purity) within 5–10 min, but was unable to resolve individual esters. A preparative version of the same column (80 mL bed volume) enabled isolation (>88% purity) of 100 mg quantities of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic esters from esterified tuna oil within 6 min. Baseline separation of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic esters was achieved on all RP columns. The results show that there is potential to use polymeric monolithic cation exchange columns for scaled-up preparation of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic ester concentrates from fish oils.
J. A. Martin, P. Parekh, Y. Kim, T. E. Morey, K. Sefah, N. Gravenstein, D. M. Dennis, W. Tan
PLOS ONE, March 2013, Volume 8, Issue 3, e57341
Adverse drug reactions, including severe patient bleeding, may occur following the administration of anticoagulant drugs. Bivalirudin is a synthetic anticoagulant drug sometimes employed as a substitute for heparin, a commonly used anticoagulant that can cause a condition called heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Although bivalrudin has the advantage of not causing HIT, a major concern is lack of an antidote for this drug. In contrast, medical professionals can quickly reverse the effects of heparin using protamine. This report details the selection of an aptamer to bivalirudin that functions as an antidote in buffer. This was accomplished by immobilizing the drug on a monolithic column to partition binding sequences from nonbinding sequences using a low-pressure chromatography system and salt gradient elution. The elution profile of binding sequences was compared to that of a blank column (no drug), and fractions with a chromatographic difference were analyzed via real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and used for further selection. Sequences were identified by 454 sequencing and demonstrated low micromolar dissociation constants through fluorescence anisotropy after only two rounds of selection. One aptamer, JPB5, displayed a dose-dependent reduction of the clotting time in buffer, with a 20 µM aptamer achieving a nearly complete antidote effect. This work is expected to result in a superior safety profile for bivalirudin, resulting in enhanced patient care.
A. Ghanem, R. Healey, F. G. Adly
Analytica Chimica Acta 760 (2013) 1-15
Abstract
Plasmid DNA (pDNA)-based vaccines offer more rapid avenues for development and production if compared to those of conventional virus-based vaccines. They do not rely on time- or labour-intensive cell culture processes and allow greater flexibility in shipping and storage. Stimulating antibodies and cellmediated components of the immune system are considered as some of the major advantages associated with the use of pDNA vaccines. This review summarizes the current trends in the purification of pDNA vaccines for practical and analytical applications. Special attention is paid to chromatographic techniques aimed at reducing the steps of final purification, post primary isolation and intermediate recovery, in order to reduce the number of steps necessary to reach a purified end product from the crude plasmid.
A. Romanovskaya, L. P. Sarina, D. H. Bamford, M. M. Poranen
Journal of Chromatography A (2013)
Recent advances in the field of RNA interference and new cost-effective approaches for large-scale double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) synthesis have fuelled the demand for robust high-performance purification techniques suitable for dsRNA molecules of various lengths. To address this issue, we developed an improved dsRNA purification method based on anion exchange chromatography utilizing convective interaction media (CIM) monolithic columns. To evaluate column performance we synthesized a selection of dsRNA molecules (58–1810 bp) in a one-step enzymatic reaction involving bacteriophage T7 DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and phi6 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. In addition, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) of 25–27 bp were generated by Dicer digestion of the genomic dsRNA of bacteriophage phi6. We demonstrated that linearly scalable CIM monolithic quaternary amine (QA) columns can be used as a fast and superior alternative to standard purification methods (e.g. LiCl precipitation) to obtain highly pure dsRNA preparations. The impurities following Dicer treatment were quickly and efficiently removed with the QA CIM monolithic column, yielding siRNA molecules of high purity suitable for potential therapeutic applications. Moreover, baseline separation of dsRNA molecules up to 1 kb in non-denaturing conditions was achieved.
2012
J. Ruščić, I. Gutierrez-Aguirre, L. Urbas, P. Kramberger, N. Mehle, D. Škorić, M. Barut, M. Ravnikar, M. Krajačić
Journal of Chromatography A, 1274 (2013) 129-136
Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) is the causal agent of a number of agriculturally important diseases. It is a single-stranded, circular and unencapsidated RNA molecule with only 356–360 nucleotides and no coding capacity. Because of its peculiar structural features, it is very stable ex vivo and it is easily transmitted mechanically by contaminated hands, tools, machinery, etc. In this work, we describe the development and optimization of a method for concentrating PSTVd using Convective Interaction Media (CIM) monolithic columns. The ion-exchange chromatography on diethylamine (DEAE) monolithic analytical column (CIMac DEAE-0.1 mL) resulted in up to 30% PSTVd recovery whilst the hydrophobic interaction chromatography on C4 monolithic analytical column (CIMac C4-0.1 mL) improved it up to 60%. This was due to the fact that the binding of the viroid to the C4 matrix was less strong than to the highly charged anion-exchange matrix and could be easier and more completely eluted under the applied chromatographic conditions. Based on these preliminary results, a C4 HLD-1 (High Ligand Density) 1 mL monolithic tube column was selected for further experiments. One-litre-water samples were mixed with different viroid quantities and loaded onto the column. By using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), the viroid RNA was quantified in the elution fraction (≈5 mL) indicating that 70% of the viroid was recovered and concentrated by at least two orders of magnitude. This approach will be helpful in screening irrigation waters and/or hydroponic systems’ nutrient solutions for the presence of even extremely low concentrations of PSTVd.
2011
E. F. Maksimova, E. G. Vlakh, T. B. Tennikova
Journal of Chromatography A, 1218 (2011) 2425-2431
A series of macroporous monolithic methacrylate-based materials was synthesized by in situ free radical UV-initiated copolymerization of functional monomers, such as glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), butyl methacrylate (BuMA), 2-aminoethyl methacrylate (AEMA), 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 2-cyanoethyl methacrylate (CEMA), with crosslinking agent, namely, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA). The materials obtained were applied as the stationary phases in simple and robust technique – planar chromatography (PLC). The method of separation layer fabrication representing macroporous polymer monolith bound to the specially prepared glass surface was developed and optimized. The GMA–EDMA and BuMA–EDMA matrixes were successfully applied for the separation of low molecular weight compounds (the mixture of several dies), as well as poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and polystyrene homopolymers of different molecular weights using reversed-phase mechanism. The materials based on copolymers AEMA–HEMA–EDMA and CEMA–HEMA–EDMA were used for normal-phase PLC separation of 2,4-dinitrophenyl amino acids and polystyrene standards.
A. Trauner, M. H. Bennett, H. D. Williams
PLoS ONE 6(2): e16273. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0016273
We report the development of a rapid chromatographic method for the isolation of bacterial ribosomes from crude cell lysates in less than ten minutes. Our separation is based on the use of strong anion exchange monolithic columns. Using a simple stepwise elution program we were able to purify ribosomes whose composition is comparable to those isolated by sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation, as confirmed by quantitative proteomic analysis (iTRAQ). The speed and simplicity of this approach could accelerate the study of many different aspects of ribosomal biology.
M. J. Shin, L. Tan, M. H. Jeong, J.-H. Kim, W.-S. Choe
Journal of Chromatography A, 1218 (2011) 5273-5278
Immobilized metal affinity monolith column as a new class of chromatographic support is shown to be superior to conventional particle-based column as plasmid DNA (pDNA) purification platform. By harnessing the affinity of endotoxin to copper ions in the solution, a majority of endotoxin (90%) was removed from the alkaline cell lysate using CuCl2-induced precipitation. RNA and remaining endotoxin were subsequently removed to below detection limit with minimal loss of pDNA using either monolith or particle-based column. Monolith column has the additional advantage of feed concentration and flowrate-independent dynamic binding capacity for RNA molecules, enabling purification process to be conducted at high feed RNA concentration and flowrate. The use of monolith column gives three fold increased productivity of pDNA as compared to particle-based column, providing a more rapid and economical platform for pDNA purification.
2010
F. Smrekar, A. Podgornik, M. Ciringer, S. Kontrec, P. Raspor, A. Štrancar, M. Peterka
Vaccine 28 (2010) 2039–2045
Plasmid DNA (pDNA) used in vaccination and gene therapy has to be highly pure and homogenous, which point out necessity to develop efficient, reproducible and scalable downstream process. Convective Interaction Media (CIM) monolithic chromatographic supports being designed for purification of large molecules and nanoparticles seem to be a matrix of choice for pDNA purification. In present work we describe a pDNA purification process designed on two different CIM monolithic columns, based on anion-exchange (AEX) chromatography and hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) chemistry. HIC monolith enabled separation of supercoiled (sc) pDNA from open circular (oc) pDNA, genomic DNA (gDNA) and endotoxins regardless to flow rates in the range at least up to 380 cm/h. Dynamic binding capacity of new HIC monolith is up to 4 mg of pDNA per milliliter of support. Combination of both chromatographic steps using optimized CaCl2 precipitation enabled production of pure pDNA, satisfying all regulatory requirements. Process was found to be reproducible, scalable, and exhibits high productivity. In addition, in-line monitoring of pDNA purification process is shown, using CIM DEAE disk monolithic columns.
N. Lendero Krajnc, F. Smrekar, A. Štrancar, A. Podgornik
Journal of Chromatography A, 1218 (2011) 2413-2424
The objective of this study was to investigate the behavior of large plasmids on the monolithic columns under binding and nonbinding conditions. The pressure drop measurements under nonbinding conditions demonstrated that the flow velocities under which plasmid passing monolith became hindered by the monolithic pore structure depended on the plasmid size as well as on the average monolith pore size; however, they were all very high exceeding the values encountered when applying CIM monolithic columns at their maximal flow rate. The impact of the ligand density and the salt concentration in loading buffer on binding capacity of the monolith for different sized plasmids was examined. For all plasmids the increase of dynamic binding capacity with the increase of salt concentration in the loading solution was observed reaching maximum of 7.1 mg/mL at 0.4 M NaCl for 21 kbp, 12.0 mg/mL at 0.4 M NaCl for 39.4 kbp and 8.4 mg/mL at 0.5 M NaCl for 62.1 kbp. Analysis of the pressure drop data measured on the monolithic column during plasmid loading revealed different patterns of plasmid binding to the surface, showing “car-parking problem” phenomena under certain conditions. In addition, layer thickness of adsorbed plasmid was estimated and at maximal dynamic binding capacity it matched calculated plasmid radius of gyration. Finally, it was found that the adsorbed plasmid layer acts similarly as the grafted layer responding to changes in solution's ionic strength as well as mobile phase flow rate and that the density of plasmid layer depends on the plasmid size and also loading conditions.
M. Peterka, P. Kramberger, A. Štrancar
Wang, Perry G. (ur.). Monolithic chromatography and its modern applications. St Albans: ILM publications, 2010, pg. 489-508
Downstream processing (DSP) for purification can become a significant bottleneck in the production of novel biotherapeutics, such as viral vectors and vaccines (viral or DNA). Although different techniques can be used for the purification of large molecules and particles, liquid chromatography is the preferred method as it achieves the purity required by regulatory agencies. Despite the popularity of conventional chromatographic media, the diffusional mass transfer of large molecules and relatively small pore size remain limiting factors for the efficient separation of large biomolecules and particles.
A. Čevdek, M. Franko
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 398 (2010), 555-562
This work presents a comparison of convective interaction media (CIM) and controlled pore glass (CPG) as solid supports for immunoglobulin antibodies used in bioanalytical detection of allergens in foodstuffs. A flow-injection manifold with highly sensitive thermal lens spectrometric detection was used for this purpose. Using beta-lactoglobulin, a milk allergen, as a model analyte, CIM disc supports had a higher linear range (0.2–3.5 μg L-1), better reproducibility (intra-day RSD = 1%, inter-day RSD = 10%), lower consumption of reagents, and better immunocolumn stability (1 month, over 240 injections of substrate), while providing comparable LODs (0.1 μg L-1). Application of CIM discs as solid supports in immunocolumns for allergen detection enables fast and sensitive screening of allergens in foodstuffs with sample throughput of up to eight samples per hour.
2009
S. Yamamoto, M. Nakamura, C. Tarmann, A. Jungbauer
Journal of Chromatography A 1216 (2009) 2616-2620
Our previous study has shown that there is a good correlation between the number of charges of DNA (from trimer to 50-mer) and the number of binding sites B in electrostatic interaction chromatography (ion-exchange chromatography, IEC). It was also found that high salt (NaCl) concentration is needed to elute large DNAs (>0.6 M). In this paper we further performed experiments with large DNAs (up to 95-mer polyT and polyA) and charged liposome particles of different sizes (ca. 30, 50 and 100 nm) with a monolithic anion-exchange disk in order to understand the binding and elution mechanism of very large charged biomolecules or particles. The peak salt (NaCl) concentration increased with increasing DNA length. However, above 50-mer DNAs the value did not increase significantly with DNA length (ca. 0.65–0.70 M). For liposome particles of different sizes the peak salt concentration (ca. 0.62 M) was similar and slightly lower than that for large DNAs (ca. 0.65–0.70 M). The binding site values (ca. 25–30) are smaller than those for large DNAs. When arginine was used as a mobile phase modulator, the elution position of polyA and polyT became very close whereas in NaCl gradient elution polyT appeared after polyA eluted. This was mainly due to suppression of hydrophobic interaction by arginine.
2008
M. Ćurković Perica, I. Šola, L. Urbas, F. Smrekar, M. Krajačić
Journal of Chromatography A 1216 (2009) 2712-2716
A procedure based on Sartorius BIA Separations CIM DEAE anion-exchange chromatography was developed to separate double-stranded (ds) RNA of hypovirus infecting phytopathogenic fungus Cryphonectria parasitica. Using a linear gradient of 25 mM 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid (MOPS), pH 7.0 as a binding buffer, and 25 mM MOPS, 1.5 M NaCl, 0.1 mM EDTA, 15% isopropanol (v/v), pH 7.0 as an elution buffer, hypoviral dsRNA was additionally purified from nucleic acid species present in preparations partially purified by standard CF-11 cellulose chromatography. Moreover, crude phenol/chloroform extracts of the fungal tissue were also applied to monolithic supports and CIM DEAE chromatograms revealed clear evidence for hypoviral presence without CF-11 chromatography, nucleic acid precipitation, and electrophoresis.
J. Ivancic-Jelecki, M. Brgles, M. Šantak, D. Forčić
Journal of Chromatography A 1216 (2009) 2717-2724
Human plasma is an important medical substance and a raw material for production of various therapeutics. During blood sampling, storage and processing, genomic DNA is released into plasma from nucleated blood cells that are damaged in the course of the procedure. In order to determine the concentration of contaminating DNA in plasma, we developed a method for DNA isolation by using anion-exchange chromatography on a Sartorius BIA Separations CIM (convective interaction media) diethylaminoethyl column. DNA was quantified by SYBR Green based real-time polymerase chain reaction. The concentration of cell-free, non-apoptotic DNA in plasma ranged between 0.06 and 22.5 ng/ml. As substantial volumes of plasma or whole blood are administered directly into the vascular system, a recipient is exposed to high amounts of cell-free DNA, several orders of magnitude higher than the amount found in other biologicals.
2007
E. Müller, C. Mann
Journal of Chromatography A, 1144 (2007) 30-39(2007) 30-39
The electro-acoustic effects, namely the ion vibration potential (IVP) and the colloidal vibration current (CVI), colloidal vibration potential (CVP) first described by P. Debye [P. Debye, J. Chem. Phys. 1 (1933) 13], are a result of charge separation of bound or free ions at different degrees by ultrasonic waves. Today commercial instruments are available to investigate liquid homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. In the present paper the application of this technique for the characterization of salts, protein solutions and resins for biochromatography is shown and valuable information about resins can be derived in a short time. Various resins were investigated with the following results: (1) the CVI magnitude is dependent of several parameters (such as particle size distribution, volume fraction, density difference); (2) the CVI is influenced by the surface modification of the resins. Polymeric modifications decrease the value of CVI. The CVI is generally lower for high capacity resins; (3) the measurement of the electro-acoustic effects can be used to detect small changes in resins. The CVI is dependent of the amount of adsorbed protein in “native” and denatured state.
K. Benčina, M. Benčina, A. Podgornik, A. Štrancar
Journal of Chromatography A, 1160 (2007) 176–183
The chromatography of mechanically sensitive macromolecules still represents a challenge. While larger pores can reduce the mechanically induced cleavage of large macromolecules and column clogging, the column performance inevitably decreases. To investigate the effect of pore size on the mechanical degradation of DNA, column permeability and enzyme biological activity, methacrylate monoliths with different pore sizes were tested. Monolith with a 143 nm pore radius mechanically damaged the DNA and was clogged at flow rates above 0.5 ml min−1 (26 cm h−1). For monoliths with a pore radius of 634 nm and 2900 nm, no mechanical degradation of DNA was observed up to 5 ml min−1 (265 cm h−1) above which the HPLC itself became the main source of damage. A decrease of a permeability appeared at flow rate 1.8 ml min−1 (95 cm h−1) and 2.3 ml min−1 (122 cm h−1), respectively. The effect of the pore size on enzyme biological activity was tested with immobilized DNase and trypsin on all three monoliths. Although the highest amount of enzyme was immobilized on the monolith with the smallest pores, monolith with the pore radius 634 nm exhibited the highest DNase biological activity probably due to restricted access for DNA molecules into the small pores. Interestingly, specific biological activity was increasing with a pore size decrease. This was attributed to higher number of contacts between a substrate and immobilized ligand.
S. Yamamoto, M. Nakamura, C. Tarmann, A. Jungbauer
Journal of chromatography 1144 (2007) 155-160
Linear gradient elution experiments were carried out on monolithic anion-exchange chromatography (AEC) with oligo-DNAs of various sizes (4–50mer, molecular weight MW = 1200–15,000) and compositions in order to investigate the retention mechanism. The binding site (B) values as well as the peak salt elution concentration IR values were determined. The B values determined for the monolithic AEC were similar to the values for non-porous AEC and porous AEC. The B value increased linearly with the number of charges (bases) of single-strand DNA when MW is less than ca. 3600 (12mer). When MW is greater than 6000, the slope of B versus MW decreased, and became very small at MW > 30,000. The IR value also increased linearly with MW for MW < 6000, and slightly with MW for MW > 10,000. It was shown that a very difficult separation of a single-strand 50mer poly(T) and a double-strand 50mer poly(A) and poly(T) was accomplished within 10 min by using a very shallow gradient at a high initial salt concentration (0.5 M) and a high flow-velocity (2.7 cm/min).