Mechanistic analysis on the effects of salt concentration and pH on protein adsorption onto a mixed-mode adsorbent with cation ligand

Streamline Direct HST is a new kind of mixed-mode adsorbent with cation exchange ligand, especially developed for the expanded bed adsorption process, which can capture target protein directly from the moderate ionic strength feedstock without the need of dilution or other additives. In this study, the isotherm adsorption behaviors and the isocratic retention factors of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on Streamline Direct HST were measured, and the corresponding adsorption mechanisms were also described. The results indicated that Streamline Direct HST shows the typical property of salt-independent adsorption and the maximum binding capacity of BSA occurs near the isoelectric point of BSA. When there are some amounts of electrostatic repulsion protein–adsorbent interactions, the multilayer adsorption could be found, and high salt concentration does not favor the adsorption of protein. A patch-controlled adsorption process and an oriented adsorption model are proposed for describing the adsorption behaviors under electrostatic repulsion condition.