Monday, February 23, 2009

How do we scale up the Protein Purification Process


When the protein purification protocol forms the part of an industrial process for the production of industrially important or pharmaceutically important protein such as vaccines, hormones, etc., the laboratory scale protocol also has to be scaled up. Actually, it forms the process of downstream processing.

Special care should be taken to bring the cost of production of the protein down by purchasing the chemicals in bulk quantities and using equipment and holding vessels, which are permanent or recyclable. The materials and vessels should be made up of cheap materials and should be inert and resistant to corrosion. Leaching of toxic metals and chemicals into the product should be avoided. The process of manufacturing and downstream processing require the approval of the regulatory authority to produce and market a protein that is useful in food industry or as pharmaceuticals. About 80% of production costs is for downstream processing and quality assurance. Therefore, by controlling the various steps and equipment in downstream processing and product recovery, we can bring down the cost of production without compromising the quality of the product.

Bulk-Protein Production :
The protein-purification procedure that is applicable for the laboratory scale is applicable for the downstream process of the industrial scale also. The process can be used for the purification of enzymes in bulk quantities not only from microbial fermentation systems but also from plant and animal tissues.

Proteins for Therapeutic and Diagnostic Purposes:
Drug proteins such as digestive enzymes, therapeutic proteins such as antibodies or vaccines, hormones, growth factors, etc., and other diagnostic proteins should be purified to a very high degree. Those proteins that are for pericutaneous or intra-venal administration should be highly purified and sterile. Parentral preparations are those that are intended for intra-venal administration or for infusion or for implantation. Such materials should be highly purified and sterile.

Tags: Bio Technology, Bio Genetics, Protein Purification

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