Simulation of porosity decrease with protein adsorption using the distributed pore model

Development of tandem cation exchange chromatography for high purity extracellular vesicle isolation: The effect of ligand steric availability

Purification of extracellular vesicles for research and therapeutic applications requires updated methodology to address the limitations of traditional ultracentrifugation and other size-based separation techniques. Their downfalls include induced extracellular vesicle aggregation, low yields, poor scalability and one-dimensionality of the separation process, as the size or sedimentation speed of extracellular vesicles is often the only selection criterion. Ion exchange chromatography is a promising alternative or supplementary method candidate, as it offers a different approach for extracellular vesicle separation, which is surface charge. For now, mostly anion exchange chromatography has been evaluated for extracellular vesicle purification, as it successfully relies on the strongly negative surface charge of extracellular vesicles. However, as extracellular vesicles are very complex in their structure, also cation exchange chromatography could be applicable, due to individual cationic domains on the extracellular vesicle surface. Here, we compare anion exchange chromatography to different types of cation exchange chromatography for the purification of platelet extracellular vesicle samples also containing plasma-derived impurities. We found that the choice of resin structure used for cation exchange chromatography is critical for binding platelet extracellular vesicles, as a conventional-type cation exchanger was found to only capture and elute less than 20% of extracellular vesicles. With the tentacle-type resin, it was possible to obtain comparable platelet extracellular vesicle yields (over 90%) with cation exchange chromatography compared to anion exchange chromatography, as well as superior purity, especially when it was combined to conventional cation exchange resin.

Protein adsorption in polyelectrolyte brush type cation-exchangers

Ion exchange chromatography materials functionalized with polyelectrolyte brushes (PEB) are becoming an integral part of many protein purification steps. Adsorption onto these materials is different than that onto traditional materials, due to the 3D partitioning of proteins into the polyelectrolyte brushes. Despite this mechanistic difference, many works have described the chromatographic behavior of proteins on polyelectrolyte brush type ion exchangers with much of the same methods as used for traditional materials. In this work, unconventional chromatographic behavior on polyelectrolyte brush type materials is observed for several proteins: the peaks shapes reveal first anti-Langmuirian and then Langmuirian types of interactions, with increasing injection volumes. An experimental and model based description of these materials is carried out in order to explain this behavior. The reason for this behavior is shown to be the 3D partitioning of proteins into the polyelectrolyte brushes: proteins that fully and readily utilize the 3D structure of the PEB phase during adsorption show this behavior, whereas those that do not show traditional ion exchange behavior.

Ionic strength-dependent changes in tentacular ion exchangers with variable ligand density. I. Structural properties

The ligand density critically affects the performance of ion-exchange resins in such measures as the adsorption capacity and transport characteristics. However, for tentacular and other polymer-modified exchangers, the mechanistic basis of the effect of ligand density on performance is not yet fully understood. In this study we map the ionic strength-dependent structural changes in tentacular cation exchangers with variable ligand densities as the basis for subsequent investigation of effects on functional properties. Inverse size-exclusion chromatography (ISEC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) were used to assess the effect of ionic strength on the pore size and intraparticle architecture of resin variants with different ligand densities. Comparison of ISEC and cryo-SEM results shows a considerable reduction in average pore size with increasing ligand density; these methods also confirm an increase of average pore size at higher ionic strengths. SAXS analysis of ionic strength-dependent conformational changes in the grafted polyelectrolyte layer shows a characteristic ionomer peak at values of the scattering vector q (0.1-0.2Å(-1)) that depend on the ligand density and the ionic strength of the solution. This peak attribution reflects nanoscale changes in the structure of the grafted polyelectrolyte chains that can in turn be responsible for observed pore-size changes in the resins. Finally, salt breakthrough experiments confirm a stronger Donnan exclusion effect on pore accessibility for small ions in the high ligand density variant.