Modellazione della separazione di immunoglobulina G mediante membrane di affinità

Bead based chromatography is actually one of the main unit operation in the biotechnology industry. Nevertheless, several limitations are associated to this technique such as high pressure drops and slow mass transfer. Membrane based chromatography is one of the alternatives that are receiving increasing attention. This work is focused on the purification of Immunoglobulin G via affinity membranes. Principally it is presented a mathematical model that accurately describes the protein separation process. The model proposed takes into account a mass balance over the porous medium and a kinetic equation to describe the interaction between the protein and the ligand immobilized onto the membrane. Model validation has been performed over a wide range of experimental data obtained at different operating conditions. The model has been preliminary tested with chromatographic cycles performed with pure IgG; afterward, the model has been successfully used to describe the experimental data obtained with a complex feedstock.