Faster isolation of recombinant factor VIII SQ, with a superporous agarose matrix

A superporous agarose matrix was compared with a corresponding homogenous matrix in the isolation of recombinant factor VIII SQ (r-VIII SQ) by immunoaffinity chromatography. As a reference, the commercially available Sepharose FastFlow, used for a similar purification in the industry, was also evaluated. Breakthrough curves are described for flows between 50 and 400 cm/h with pre-purified r-VIII SQ and with cell culture broth. The superporous gel gave the best performance and a 1000-fold purification was obtained in a one-step procedure. The superporous matrix made it possible to increase the throughput about four-fold, presumably due to its better mass transfer properties. The importance of the ligand distribution profile is discussed based upon immunofluorescence microscopy data.