Study on Optimizing High-Gradient Magnetic Separation—Part 2: Experimental Evaluation of the Performance of a New Designed Magnetic Filter

Abstract

The introduction of functionalized magnetizable particles and high-gradient magnetic separation represents a time and money saving alternative to conventional purification and separation unit operations in the biotechnical sector. This technique has some advantages especially for the recycling of immobilized enzymes. A new magnetic filter with sight glasses was constructed and produced to study the performance of high-gradient magnetic separation at varied parameters. By optical analysis the buildup of a clogging was identified as the major parameter which affected the separation performance. For the cleaning procedure, a two-phase flow of water with highly dispersed air bubbles was tested which led to a nearly complete cleaning of the filter chamber.

Development of a novel disposable filter bag for separation of biomolecules with functionalized magnetic particles

“…The surface of the interior walls of the process plant is a major property, which influence the interaction with the magnetic particles. In the publication , the surface modification of a filter matrix consisting of stacked filter plates with cutouts was studied, whereby it was evaluated that an electropolished filter matrix offers a suitable surface of stainless steel material. It was assumed that the amount of particle residues at the interior walls is correlated with the surface roughness.…”

“…On the other hand in a lengthwise alignment the assembly of the filter bag would be easier, due to a lower number of filament ends, which complicate the welding or sealing procedure. Furthermore the length of the matrix had to be taken into consideration: A matrix with longer filaments should retard a greater amount of particles . Therefore, a lengthwise alignment of the matrix filaments was chosen.…”

“…Beside the purification of target biomolecules, such as recombinant proteins or peptides, the magnetic particles can also be utilized with preimmobilized biocatalysts for biopharmaceutical production or food and beverage processing . Within this case of application, a multiple use of the magnetic particles (magnetic enzymes) is required for cost efficiency.…”

“…Furthermore, the void fraction of the filter chamber influences the linear fluid velocity and thus also affecting the drag force of the fluid. In contrast to the fluid velocity within the filter chamber, which can be varied during operation, the magnetic force is constant during operation due to the separation apparatus and the filter matrix setup .…”

Agglomeration behaviour of magnetic microparticles during separation and recycling processes in mRNA purification

“…This technique has already been applied by various working groups in the field of biotechnology as well [1–5]. It was utilized for the separation of immobilized enzymes [6–8] and used for the isolation of target molecules [9–15]. In this process, the target molecule is specifically adsorbed on the functionalized particle surface in a reaction mixture and desorbed again from the magnetic particles (called magnetic beads) after magnetic separation has taken place.…”