Monoclonal antibodies are key molecules
in medicine and pharmaceuticals.
A potentially crucial drawback for faster advances in research here
is their high price due to the extremely expensive antibody purification
process, particularly the affinity capture step. Affinity chromatography
materials have to demonstrate the high binding capacity and recovery
efficiency as well as superior chemical and mechanical stability.
Low-cost materials and robust, faster processes would reduce costs
and enhance industrial immunoglobulin purification. Therefore, exploring
the use of alternative materials is necessary. In this context, we
conduct the first comparison of the performance of magnetic nanoparticles
with commercially available chromatography resins and magnetic microparticles
with regard to immobilizing Protein G ligands and recovering immunoglobulin
G (IgG). Simultaneously, we demonstrate the suitability of bare as
well as silica-coated and epoxy-functionalized magnetite nanoparticles
for this purpose. All materials applied have a similar specific surface
area but differ in the nature of their matrix and surface accessibility.
The nanoparticles are present as micrometer agglomerates in solution.
The highest Protein G density can be observed on the nanoparticles.
IgG adsorbs as a multilayer on all materials investigated. However,
the recovery of IgG after washing indicates a remaining monolayer,
which points to the specificity of the IgG binding to the immobilized
Protein G. One important finding is the impact of the ligand-binding
stoichiometry (Protein G surface coverage) on IgG recovery, reusability,
and the ability to withstand long-term sanitization. Differences in
the materials’ performances are attributed to mass transfer
limitations and steric hindrance. These results demonstrate that nanoparticles
represent a promising material for the economical and efficient immobilization
of proteins and the affinity purification of antibodies, promoting
innovation in downstream processing.