Membranes, Chromatography and Membrane Chromatography. Separation Technologies for the Biopharm and Nutraceutical Era

Membrane technology and process chromatography are widely used in the food, biopharmaceutical, nutraceutical and bioprocessing industries. Both techniques developed simultaneously and in parallel over the past few decades. The two technologies are complementaryfor the most part in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. Membrane chromatography integrates membranes and chromatography into one versatile technology. The resulting synergy has advantages and largely eliminates the disadvantages of the individual techniques, the most important being pore diffusion, thus leading to higher throughputs. This review compares the principles and applications of membranes, chromatography and membrane chromatography and their individual and combined roles in bioseparations.