Adsorptive membrane chromatography

Membrane Adsorption, Membrane Chromatography Liquid-Solid Contacting... 

Coffman, J. L., Roper, D. K., and Lightfoot, E. N. (1994). High-resolution chromatography of proteins in short columns and adsorptive membranes. Bioseparation 4, 183-200. 

Many publications of the last decades reported the preparation, characterization, and performances of various types of adsorptive membrane. Ion exchange, affinity, reverse phase, or hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography have been described. In the following, various methods involved in the preparation of different classes of adsorbers will be discussed. 

Membrane chromatography proved to be a successful tool especially for separation of macromolecules. The large-size proteins cannot enter the small pores of the particles in the packed-bed columns, while in membrane-based processes they have access to a much higher binding surface due to the macroporous nature of the supports. One problem may nevertheless appear for membranes with large pore distribution. Suen [182] reported that a variation of 12% in porosity can be responsible for a loss of 50% of adsorption capacity at the breakthrough point. For variations in the membrane thickness a three times less-sensitive behavior was found. 

Liu Y, Eeng Z, Shao Z, Chen X. Chitosan-based membrane chromatography for protein adsorption and separation. Mater Sci. Eng. 2012 32 1669-1673. 

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