Capillary-Channeled Polymer (C-CP) Fiber Stationary Phases for High Speed and Preparative Protein Separation

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Prof. Ken Marcus and collaborators at Clemson University are supported by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program (Division of Chemistry) and the Chemical and Biological Separations Program (Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems), with co-funding from the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, to develop and characterize capillary-channeled polymer (C-CP) fibers as stationary phases for rapid processing of biomacromolecules. C-CP materials are amenable to a wide range of column formats (microbore to preparative) and offer advantages for macromolecular separations (relative to traditional porous-bead, membrane, and monolithic stationary phases), including low flow resistance, elimination of size-exclusion effects, much higher mass transfer rates, and high mobile phase velocities (not necessarily volume flow rates) and gradient rates without sacrificing chromatographic performance. These properties make C-CP fiber columns potentially useful as the second dimension for 2-D HPLC protein separations. Surface chemistries can be varied to affect separation while providing high levels of flexibility. Finally, the approach should prove relatively inexpensive for applications such as high speed and preparative separations (e.g., of proteins). The studies involve a collaborative effort between research groups from the Department of Chemistry and the School of Materials Science and Engineering, both of which are affiliated with the Clemson University Center for Advanced Engineering of Fibers and Films (CAEFF). Successful completion of the work may lead to new commercial ventures in the textile and pharmaceutical industries in South Carolina and elsewhere. CAEFF programs expose graduate students to science and research philosophies across the science/engineering interface. The low cost and simplicity of constructing C-CP fiber columns will allow their use in newly designed undergraduate and graduate laboratory experiments illustrating the basic principles of protein chromatography.