Hydrogel beads affinity adsorbents

The use of small affinity adsorbent particles immobilized in hydrogel beads has been investigated for whole broth processing (1). The adsorbent particles can contain biospecific ligands covalently attached to a porous solid support. A mathematical model was developed to study bioproduct adsorption using immobilized affinity adsorbent beads in batch operation. 

The performance of immobilized and freely suspended affinity adsorbents was compared by calculating adsorption rates and selectivities for four different bead geometries. Simulation results indicate that the performance of finely ground adsorbent particles immobilized in hydrogel beads is superior compared to freely suspended adsorbents. The mathematical model was further used for simulation studies to investigate the effect of bead design parameters on product adsorption. 

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an immobilized affinity adsorbent bead. Hydrogel, by virtue of its extremely high water content (>90%), offers limited diffusional resistance to the desired product. It is therefore used as an inert matrix to support... 

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