Wolfgang Demmer

Large-scale membrane adsorbers

A new large-scale membrane adsorber system for rapid separation of biomolecules based on a hollow cylindrical module geometry in unitized construction and combined parallel and serial connection of modules is presented. The effectiveness of the concept is demonstrated by breakthrough curves on a 21-m2 pilot plant with hemoglobin as a model substance. Scale-up to the order of 100 m2 and above is easily performed by combining modules in parallel for increasing capacity, and in series for optimizing performance. An estimation of productivity based on these data is presented. Preliminary results of separations by linear salt gradient elution are also given.

Downstream Processing of Bovine Lactoferrin from Sweet Whey

The development of a downstream process for the isolation of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) from sweet whey is presented. Whey is a by-product from the cheese manufacturing process that is often used to produce whey protein concentrate powders for food applications. Besides the major whey proteins such as lactalbumin or BSA. minor whey proteins are present such as lactoperoxidase and bLF. In addition to the well-known biological functions as an antimicrobial and antiviral agent, bLF shows immunomodulatory functions in the host defence system. For the isolation of bLF, a two-step downstream process was developed based on membrane systems. This paper discusses the application of several membrane types for a crossflow filtration of sweet whey to remove insoluble particles and lipids from the whey with the aim of obtaining a permeate which can be directly used for down-streaming the minor component via ion exchange membrane adsorber systems. The application of such a membrane adsorber is demonstrated.