New Technology for High-Performance and High-Capacity Bio-separations: Protein Purification using "Hydrophobic Water" Solvent Systems

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New Technology for High-Performance and High-Capacity Bio-separations: Protein Purification using "Hydrophobic Water" Solvent Systems in Countercurrent Chromatography ApparatusSummaryIn the biotechnology industries, the manufacture of high-value proteins, peptides and biomolecules require fast, low cost, reliable, GMP-compliant and scalable production methodologies. One scientific area used to achieve this, is the use of preparatory chromatography and related extraction technologies. It is proposed to use a combination of three relatively new technologies, namely: (1) ionic liquids, (2) modern high performance countercurrent chromatography (HPCCC) and centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) and (3) co-solvent free, high water content microemulsions derived from catanionic surfactants. The microemulsion solvent systems proposed are a class of surface active, hydrophobic ionic liquids, which enable a new range of high performance, high capacity and environmentally friendly separations of peptides, proteins and other biomolecules. The mobile or carrier phase in these separations is usually water, which makes the process cheap and environmentally benign. This is a highly multidisciplinary project, which will combine elements of bioscience, biochemistry, chemical engineering, physical, and synthetic chemistry. This project will make use of ionic liquids solvent systems and microemulsion solvent systems in the solvent extraction and countercurrent chromatographic preparation, purification and isolation of peptides and proteins of commercial importance. This will initially use model separations of proteins, to develop and integrate the different technological parts of this new methodology, and then use this information to carry out separations of proteins mixtures from natural sources. Also, this project aims to scale up the protein separations by the use of high capacity CPC equipment installed in the QUILL Research Centre and employ automation to reduce the running costs of the separations. The ultimate goal of this project is to produce a general purpose, clean, water based, efficient, cost effective peptide and protein separation system, that can be exploited by the UK biotechnology industry and help in the growth of these sectors in the UK economy.