ABSTRACT
This chapter describes aspects of process selection and performance in the production-scale separation of proteins by ion-exchange chromatogrpahy. Many aspects of chromatographic performance can be interpreted and predicted from the adsorption equilibria and kinetics. The high selectivity exerted by ion-exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography adsorbents toward proteins makes batch elution chromatography unsuitable for production-scale protein separations. In elution chromatography, a discrete sample or batch of mixture to be separated is introduced at the column inlet and carried through the column by the flowing mobile phase. The only good reason for regarding selective adsorption as a form of chromatography is that it uses the high-selectivity technology of the latter. One is used with affinity chromatography and the other with ion-exchange chromatography. Selective adsorption is the normal mode of large-scale affinity chromatography of proteins. Chromatography is a major technique in the downstream processing of proteins.
