The
batch adsorption behavior of a humanized monoclonal antibody
(hIgG2 mAb) with thermoresponsive polymer (TRP)-modified Sepharose
Fast Flow sorbents with different compositions of grafted copolymers
is described. At high protein loadings, the adsorption with negatively
charged copolymer-modified sorbents exhibited S-shaped isotherms in
most cases, indicative of unrestricted multilayer adsorption. The
adsorption capacity of the negatively charged copolymer-modified sorbents
increased with an increase in the applied environmental temperature
due to increased protein-sorbent surface hydrophobic and electrostatic
interactions. The affinity of the hIgG2 mAb for a positively charged
copolymer-grafted sorbent was much lower than that found for the negatively
charged copolymer-grafted sorbents at both 20 and 50 °C due to
electrostatic repulsive effects. This study has documented that the
molecular functionalities of the grafted copolymer can significantly
affect the adsorption behavior of this humanized mAb at both 20 and
50 °C with the isothermal dependencies revealing subtle effects
due to copolymer composition.