Reduced surface area chromatography for flow-through purification of viruses and virus like particles

A method for flow-through purification of viruses and virus like nano-particles using a combination of binding and size-exclusion chromatography was developed. This technique relies on minimizing the external surface area per unit volume available for virus binding by increasing the mean diameter of the beads used in the column. At the same time the impurity binding capacity of the column is maximized by utilizing beads with multiple functionalities of the optimum size. Purification of different types of viruses and virus-like-particles could be achieved using this technique. Flow-through purification of influenza virus using this technique yielded virus recoveries greater than 70–80% coupled with impurity removal greater than 80%. Finally an approach to optimize and facilitate process development using this technology is presented. Since the impurity binding occurs via a non-specific mechanism and virus recovery is achieved through reduced surface area, the technique is not limited to specific types of viruses and offers the potential as a universal purification tool.