Pall launches PallSep Biotech for bioprocessing
The PallSep Biotech technology uses vibrating membrane filtration (VMF) and encapsulated hydrophilic 0.2 µm polyethersulfone membrane filter modules to gently separate target proteins from process fluids.
As the name suggest VMF is reliant on rapid oscillation of the processing filter which, in Pall’s system, is limited to within a narrow portion of the process stream to create shear forces at the membrane surface.
Pall claims that this localisation of the shear forces reduces the build up feed components on the filter surface, allowing for increased transmission of the target molecule through the membrane, making the whole process much more efficient.
The firm also said that the cross flow requirements are much lower with PallSep system than with other tangential flow filtration (TFF) technologies, which again aids transmission of the target molecule.
Nathalie Pathier, who managed the project, said: “The new PallSep Biotech system expands processing options by allowing users to combine different process steps such as harvest and clarification within the same system, thus simplifying the process design.”
Pathier went on to suggest that: “The stable permeate flow and improved protein transmission we can achieve with this technology contribute to better process economics.”
Pall is targeting PallSep biomanufacturers using difficult to filter feed streams to make “high-vale” products such as vaccines and antigen extracts, and believes the advantages it offers over other filtration methods will attract considerable attention.
