Simulated moving bed technology with a simplified approach for protein purification: Separation of lactoperoxidase and lactoferrin from whey protein concentrate

Simulated moving bed (SMB) technology is a continuous chromatographic technique proven to have many advantages compared to conventional batch chromatography, such as: raised productivity and product concentration, reduced buffer consumption as well as more efficient use of raw material. In this study a 20 column SMB process for the separation of lactoperoxidase and lactoferrin from whey protein concentrate (WPC) was developed. A simplified approach with data from a single column experiment was used when designing the process. The SMB process data were compared to a theoretical scale-up of the breakthrough experiment reflecting the same 20 column set-up run in non-moving bed mode. The outcome of the comparison is a 48% raise in productivity, a 4.3 times decrease in buffer consumption, 6.5 times raise in target protein concentration with a raw material utilization which is slightly better for the SMB process.