U.S. patent application number 16/688687 was filed with the patent office on 2020-03-19 for removal of microorganisms from cell culture media.
The applicant listed for this patent is EMD Millipore Corporation. Invention is credited to Philip M. Goddard, Antoni Peters.
Application Number | 20200087609 16/688687 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54478945 |
Filed Date | 2020-03-19 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200087609 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Peters; Antoni ; et
al. |
March 19, 2020 |
REMOVAL OF MICROORGANISMS FROM CELL CULTURE MEDIA
Abstract
Compositions and methods are provided for removing viral
contaminants from a chemically defined cell culture medium.
Compositions provided herein are resistant to or exhibit reduced
fouling by one or more components in a chemically defined cell
culture medium.
Inventors: |
Peters; Antoni; (Fitchburg,
MA) ; Goddard; Philip M.; (Merrimack, NH) |
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Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
EMD Millipore Corporation |
Burlington |
MA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
54478945 |
Appl. No.: |
16/688687 |
Filed: |
November 19, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14870519 |
Sep 30, 2015 |
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16688687 |
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62095259 |
Dec 22, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01D 67/0088 20130101;
B01D 71/82 20130101; B01D 67/009 20130101; B01D 2323/36 20130101;
B01D 67/0093 20130101; C07K 1/34 20130101; B01D 2325/20 20130101;
B01D 61/14 20130101; B01D 2323/30 20130101; B01D 65/08 20130101;
C12M 37/02 20130101; A61L 2/0017 20130101; B01D 71/68 20130101;
B01D 2323/40 20130101 |
International
Class: |
C12M 1/12 20060101
C12M001/12; B01D 67/00 20060101 B01D067/00; B01D 71/68 20060101
B01D071/68; B01D 71/82 20060101 B01D071/82; B01D 61/14 20060101
B01D061/14; B01D 65/08 20060101 B01D065/08; A61L 2/00 20060101
A61L002/00; C07K 1/34 20060101 C07K001/34 |
Claims
1. A method of removing one or more viral contaminants from a
chemically defined cell culture medium, the method comprising: a.
providing a chemically defined cell culture medium; and b.
filtering the chemically defined cell culture medium through a
porous membrane, prior to or during transfer of the medium into a
bioreactor, wherein the porous membrane is a PES membrane, a PVDF
membrane, or a cellulosic membrane and wherein the porous membrane
has a surface treatment comprising a cross-linked polymer, the
cross-linked polymer comprising a diacetone acrylamide and one or
more non-acrylamides; wherein the level of one or more viral
contaminants in the chemically defined cell culture medium inside
the bioreactor is lower than the level prior to filtering the
medium through the membrane.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the porous membrane is an
asymmetric membrane.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more non-acrylamides
is polyethylene glycol diacrylate.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer is directly coated on
a surface of the porous membrane using an energy source.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the energy source is selected
from the group consisting of heat, electron beam, ultraviolet light
and gamma radiation.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the porous membrane is
incorporated into a device.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the device is in a format
selected from a disc, a pleated cartridge, a spirally wound
cartridge, and a multi-plate flat sheet.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the chemically defined cell
culture medium is selected from the group consisting of Lonza Power
CHO, CD Opti CHO, EMD Millipore Cellvento CHO 100 and Cellvento CHO
200.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein level of one or more viral
contaminants following step (b) is reduced by at least 1 Log.sub.10
reduction value (LRV) or at least 4 Log.sub.10 reduction value
(LRV) or at least 6 Log.sub.10 reduction value (LRV).
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtering step is carried
out for a period of less than 24 hours.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtering step is conducted
at a temperature ranging from 20.degree. C. to 25.degree. C.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein a normal flow filtering step is
conducted at a temperature ranging from 20.degree. C. to 25.degree.
C.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtering step is conducted
at a pH ranging from 4 to 8.
14. A method of reducing the fouling of a virus retentive membrane
by one or more components in a chemically defined cell culture
medium during filtration, the method comprising: a. providing a
virus retentive membrane; and b. modifying a surface of the virus
retentive membrane with a polymer comprising crosslinked monomers
of diacetone acrylamide and one or more non-acrylamides monomers,
wherein the fouling of the modified membrane by one or more
components in a chemically defined cell culture medium is reduced
relative to an unmodified membrane.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the virus retentive membrane is
a PES membrane, a PVDF membrane, a cellulosic membrane or a nylon
membrane.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more non-acrylamide
monomer is PEGDA.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a Divisional Application of U.S.
application Ser. No. 14/870,519, filed Sep. 30, 2015, which claims
the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No.
62/095,259 filed on Dec. 22, 2014. The entire teachings of each of
the above are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
[0002] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to compositions and
methods for removing microorganisms, including viruses, from cell
culture media.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Conventional processes for protein production typically
involve cell culture methods, e.g., culturing either mammalian or
bacterial cell lines recombinantly engineered to produce the
protein of interest (e.g., a monoclonal antibody) in a bioreactor
using a chemically defined cell culture media. Reduction of
bioreactor contamination by microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi,
mycoplasma and viruses is an important consideration for the
biopharmaceutical industry, especially, when the protein of
interest is intended for therapeutic use.
[0004] Among the microorganisms, bacteria, fungi and mycoplasma can
typically be removed by filtering the cell culture media through
appropriate filters. For example, microfiltration membranes with
0.2 um nominal pore size ratings are considered appropriate for the
removal of bacteria of genus Brevendumonas diminuta. Membranes with
0.1 um nominal pore size ratings are considered suitable for the
removal of mycoplasma, principally of the genus Acholeplasma
laidlawii. See, e.g., Folmsbee and Moussorakis, BioProcess
International, Vol. 10, No. 5, 2012, pp. 60-62 (May 2012). Further,
a membrane with nominal pore size rating of 20 nm is considered
suitable to effect a minimum 4 log reduction in parvovirus or
parovirus-like particles, which represent the smallest of
viruses.
[0005] It is considered challenging to generate membranes with pore
size ratings for virus removal, as reducing the pore size rating
such that to retain virus, can result in partial or complete
constriction of membrane pores, thereby to significantly reduce
membrane permeability to undesirable levels. Incidentally, there
are currently no commercially available membrane filters that are
specifically designed for removal of viruses in the upstream
process and which are effective in doing so.
[0006] One of the reasons that virus barrier filters that are
typically used downstream of the cell culture step are not
effective for removal of viruses upstream is due to notable
differences between the upstream and downstream compositions. For
example, in case of the upstream process, there are no cells or
expressed proteins in the cell culture media. However, there are
nutrients, lipids, amino acids and other components (e.g., Pluronic
F68 which provides hydrodynamic cell protection), all of which are
required for cell growth and viability. In contrast, in case of the
downstream process, the cell culture media contains cells, cellular
debris, host cell proteins as well as the protein being expressed.
Therefore, in case of the downstream process, the cell culture
media is often subjected to a number of purification steps in order
to remove undesirable virus filter foulants, prior to being
subjected to a virus filtration step
[0007] Notably, because of the differences in the nature of the
compositions requiring purification, e.g., a chemically defined
cell culture media in case of upstream virus removal versus a cell
culture media containing an expressed recombinant protein in case
of downstream virus removal, the membrane filters that are
typically used downstream for virus removal do not tend to work too
well for the same purpose when used upstream. See, e.g., Zydney et
al., Journal of Membrane Science, 297: 16-50 (2007).
[0008] There have been attempts to develop virus barrier filters
that can be specifically used upstream to filter a chemically
defined cell culture medium. See, for example, Biotechnol Prog.,
16:425-434 (2000), which discusses virus retention results obtained
with a variety of filters. As demonstrated in this paper, a
regenerated cellulose filter showed the highest flux of any filter
that was tested and also exhibited high virus retention; however,
such a membrane is not suitable for sterilization by steaming in
place or by gamma radiation, sterilization methods typically
employed in the industry today. Although, this paper also described
a PES filter, this filter was considered generally undesirable for
use as a virus barrier filter for upstream use due to its low
flux.
[0009] Further, U.S. Publication No. 20130344535 discusses
filtration of a chemically defined cell culture media to remove
virus contaminants by using a filtration time of longer than 24
hours and by using a filter of certain porosity.
SUMMARY
[0010] Embodiments disclosed herein provide novel compositions for
removing microorganisms, especially viruses, from a chemically
defined medium used for culturing cells expressing a protein of
interest. Accordingly, such compositions can be used prior to the
step of transferring a cell culture medium into a bioreactor for
culturing cells, e.g., mammalian cells expressing a recombinant
protein of interest.
[0011] The compositions described herein are based on surface
modifications of membranes resulting in membranes which exhibit
reduced fouling by one or more components in a chemically defined
cell culture medium, when such medium is filtered through the
membrane.
[0012] In some embodiments, compositions described herein are
directed to a porous membrane having a surface modified with a
polymer comprising randomly arranged and crosslinked monomers of
diacetone acrylamide and one or more non-acrylamide cross-linkable
monomers.
[0013] In various embodiments, the polymer comprising randomly
arranged and crosslinked monomers of diacetone acrylamide and one
or more non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers is directly coated
onto the surface of a porous membrane using an energy source.
Exemplary energy sources include, but are not limited to, heat,
electron beam, ultraviolet light and gamma radiation.
[0014] Exemplary non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers include,
but are not limited to, polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA),
glycerol diacrylate, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate,
ethoxylated trimethylol propane triacrylate, tetraethylene glycol
diacrylate and tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate. In a particular
embodiment, a non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomer is PEGDA.
[0015] In some embodiments, the porous membrane is an asymmetric
membrane such as, for example, a polyethersulfone (PES)
membrane,
[0016] Also provided herein are methods of using the described
modified porous membranes for removing a virus contaminant from a
chemically defined cell culture medium, e.g., by filtering a
chemically defined cell culture medium through the modified
membrane.
[0017] In some embodiments, a porous asymmetric PES membrane
modified with a polymer comprising the following structure:
##STR00001##
wherein, [0018] M1 is neutral DACm monomer:
H.sub.2C.dbd.CH-C(O)-NH-C(CH.sub.3).sub.2--CH.sub.2--C(O)--CH.sub.3;
[0019] M2 is neutral PEGDA monomer:
H.sub.2C.dbd.CH--C(O)--O--(CH.sub.2--CH.sub.2--O).sub.n-C(O)--CH.dbd.CH.s-
ub.2; [0020] M1' is radicalized DACm monomer:
*H.sub.2C--CH--C(O)--NH--C(CH.sub.3).sub.2--CH.sub.2--C(O)--CH.sub.3;
[0021] M2' is the radicalized PEGDA monomer:
*H.sub.2C--CH--C(O)--O--(CH.sub.2--CH.sub.2--O).sub.n--C(O)--CH--CH.sub.2-
*; [0022] P refers to a random polymer network; n=6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11; and the symbol "*" refers to an alkenyl radical.
[0023] In some embodiments, a porous asymmetric PES membrane
modified with a polymer comprising the following structure:
##STR00002##
wherein, [0024] M1 and M2 refer to a neutral PEGDA monomer:
H.sub.2C.dbd.CH--C(O)--O--(CH.sub.2--CH.sub.2--O).sub.n--C(O)--CH.dbd.CH.-
sub.2; [0025] M1' and M2' refer to a radicalized PEGDA monomer:
*H.sub.2C--CH--C(O)--O--(CH.sub.2--CH.sub.2--O).sub.n--C(O)--CH--CH.sub.2-
*; [0026] P refers to a random polymer network; [0027] n=6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11; and [0028] the symbol "*" refers to an alkenyl
radical.
[0029] In some embodiments, a method of removing one or more viral
contaminants from a chemically defined cell culture medium is
provided, where the method comprises the steps of: (a) providing a
chemically defined cell culture medium; and (b) filtering the
chemically defined cell culture medium through a porous membrane
prior to or during transfer of medium into a bioreactor, where the
membrane has a surface modified with a polymer comprising randomly
arranged and crosslinked monomers of diacetone acrylamide and one
or more non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers, where the level of
one or more viral contaminants in the chemically defined cell
culture medium inside the bioreactor is lower than the level prior
to filtering the medium through the modified membrane.
[0030] In some embodiments, the modified membranes described herein
are incorporated into a device. Exemplary device formats include,
but are not limited to, a disc, a pleated cartridge, a spirally
wound cartridge and a multi-plate flat sheet.
[0031] In some embodiments, the chemically defined cell culture
medium is a commercially available chemically defined cell culture
medium such as, for example, Lonza Power CHO, CD Opti CHO, EMD
Millipore Cellvento CHO 100 and Cellvento CHO 200.
[0032] The level of one or more viral contaminants in a chemically
defined cell culture medium is reduced by at least 1 Log.sub.10
reduction value (LRV) or at least 4 Log.sub.10 reduction value
(LRV) or at least 6 Log.sub.10 reduction value (LRV), using the
modified membranes described herein.
[0033] In various embodiments, a chemically defined cell culture
medium is filtered through a modified membrane described herein for
a period of less than 24 hours. In some embodiments, filtration is
conducted at a pH ranging from 4 to 8 and/or at a temperature
ranging from 20.degree. C. to 25.degree. C.
[0034] Also provided herein are methods of reducing the fouling of
a virus retentive membrane by one or more components in a
chemically defined cell culture medium, the method comprising the
steps of: (a) providing a virus retentive membrane; and (b)
modifying the membrane with a polymer comprising randomly arranged
and crosslinked monomers of diacetone acrylamide and one or more
non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers, where the fouling of the
modified membrane by one or more components in a chemically defined
cell culture medium is reduced relative to an unmodified
membrane.
[0035] In some embodiments, a virus retentive membrane is based on
a PES membrane, a PVDF membrane, a cellulosic membrane or a nylon
membrane.
[0036] In some embodiments, a non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomer
is polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0037] FIG. 1 is a bar graph depicting throughput performance
results for a diacetone acrylamide (DACm) homopolymer modified PES
membrane with and without Pluronic F68 exposure using a CHO cell
culture media as a feedstream. The first five data sets represent
membrane performance of membranes modified using different
percentages of a DACm solution (2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%), as
measured by V75 (L/m.sup.2), V90 (L/m.sup.2) and 10.times.
permeability (L/m.sup.2 h psi); and the next five data sets
represent membrane performance of the same membranes with F68
exposure, also as measured by V75 (L/m.sup.2), V90 (L/m.sup.2) and
10.times. permeability (L/m.sup.2 h psi).
[0038] FIG. 2 depicts flux decay curves for membrane devices
containing 4% DACm-1% MBAm modified PES membrane or 4% DACm-1%
PEGDA modified PES membrane or a 1% HPC modified PES membrane (as
control), tested in duplicate. The Y-axis represents the flux decay
represented as a percentage of (J/J.sub.0) %, which is the
percentage based on the flux J.sub.0 determined for a non-plugging
or non-fouling feedstream (e.g., Milli-Q water) and the X-axis
represents the throughput or capacity of membranes expressed by
liters of filtrate collected per square meters of membrane
(L/m.sup.2).
[0039] FIG. 3 depicts a bar graph depicting the capacities and
permeabilities of 4% DACm-1% MBAm, 4% DACm-1% PEGDA and 1% HPC (as
control) surface modified PES membranes. A CHO cell chemically
defined cell culture medium is used as the feedstream. The X-axis
represents the membrane and the Y-axis represents V75 (L/m.sup.2),
V90 (L/m.sup.2) and 10.times. permeability (L/m.sup.2 h psi).
[0040] FIG. 4 is a bar graph depicting the average capacities and
permeabilities of the various membrane devices tested, as measured
V75, V90 and 10.times. permeability. Each membrane device is
constructed to house a single layer (1L-) of each of the various
surface modified membranes. 1% HPC refers to a single layer
membrane device having an adsorbed polymer pretreatment applied by
immersion and comprising an aqueous 1.00 Wt % hydroxypropyl
cellulose (HPC) solution with 10% hexylene glycol used as a
membrane wetting aid; 3.75% LB20 refers to a single layer membrane
device having a self-crosslinking highly-ethoxylated triacrylate
monomer applied at concentration of 3.75% by in situ electron beam
curing; 4.00%-DACm-1% MBAm refers to a single layer membrane device
having 4% diacetone acrylamide (DACm), a monofunctional vinylic
monomer, and 1% methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBAm), a diacrylamide
crosslinker which forms a copolymer with DACm; 2.00% LB20-1%
HEA-0.75% TEGDA refers to a single layer membrane device having 2%
LB20, 1% hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA), and 0.75%, a tetraethylene
glycol diacrylate, a difunctional or crosslinking monomer; and
4.00%-DACm1%-PEGDA575 refers to a single membrane device having 4%
DACm and 1% PEGDA575, which is a 575 number-average MWt
polyethylene glycol diacrylate.
[0041] FIG. 5 depicts a graph representing average volume versus
time curves for each of the single layered membrane devices tested
in duplicate. The membrane devices tested are: 1% HPC; 3.75% LB20;
4.00% DACm-1% MBAm; 2.00% LB20-1% HEA-0.75% TEGDA; and
4.00%-DACm1%-PEGDA575. The X-axis represents volume (mls) of
filtrate collected after passing a CHO cell culture media through
the various membrane devices; and the Y-axis represents time
(mins).
[0042] FIG. 6 depicts a graph representing flux decay curves
obtained from each of the single layered membrane devices tested in
duplicate. The membrane devices tested are: 1% HPC; 3.75% LB20;
4.00% DACm-1% MBAm; 2.00% LB20-1% HEA-0.75% TEGDA; and
4.00%-DACm1%-PEGDA575. The X-axis represents membrane capacity
(L/m.sup.2) and Y-axis represents flux decay (J/J.sub.0). As
depicted in FIG. 6, the DACm-PEGDA575 copolymer modified membrane
device had a throughput performance advantage over the other
modifications tested, by way of a slower flux decay.
[0043] FIG. 7 depicts a bar graph representing capabilities and
permeabilities of a series of various membrane devices before and
after thermal treatment, as measured by V75 (L/m.sup.2), V90
(L/m.sup.2) and 10.times. permeability (L/m.sup.2 h psi). The
membrane devices tested are in three categories: modified membrane
with no thermal treatment (AM), which are as follows-1L-DP4100 AM
(i.e., 4.00%-DACm1%-PEGDA); 2L-DP4100 AM1; and IL-DP4100 AM2;
modified membrane autoclaved in device at 134.degree. C. for 1 hour
(ACD), which are as follows-1L-DP4100 ACD; IL-DP4125 ACD (i.e.,
4.00%-DACm1.25%-PEGDA) and IL-DP4 150 ACD (i.e.,
4.00%-DACm1.50%-PEGDA); modified membrane autoclaved at 134.degree.
C. for 1 hour followed by device configuration (ACM), which are as
follows-IL-DP4100 ACM; IL-DP4125 ACM and IL-DP4150 ACM. A single
layer 1L-1% HPC membrane is used as a control. The X-axis
represents the various membrane devices and the Y axis represents
the capacities V75, V90 and 10.times. permeabilities, as determined
using 4 g/L human plasma-derived IgG in acetate buffer at pH 4 and
2 mS/cm conductivity.
[0044] FIG. 8 is a bar graph representing capacities and
permeabilities of membranes before (AM) and after dry heat
treatment (DH), as measured by V75 (L/m.sup.2), V90 (L/m.sup.2) and
10.times. permeability (L/m.sup.2 h psi). Membranes tested were
cast from PES polymers from two different sources, referred to as
P1 and P2 herein. The membrane devices tested are: 1% HPC P1 and 1%
HPC P2 as controls; modified membranes with no thermal treatment
(AM), which are as follows-DP4100 AM P1; DP4200 AM P1 (i.e.,
4.00%-DACm2.00%-PEGDA); DP4100 AM P2 and DP4200 AM P2; modified
membranes treated with dry hear (DH), which are as follows-DP4100
DH P1, DP4100 DH P2 and DP4200 DH P2. The X-axis represents the
various membrane devices and the Y axis represents the capacities
V75, V90 and 10.times. permeabilities, as determined using 4 g/L
human plasma-derived IgG in acetate buffer at pH 4 and 2 mS/cm
conductivity.
[0045] FIGS. 9a and 9b are bar graphs depicting the log retention
value (LRV)Phi-X174 of various membranes before and after
steam-in-place (SIP) treatment, as measured at the start of
experiment (initial LRV, shown in 9a) and end of experiment (final
LRV, shown in 9b). Membranes tested are cast from PES polymers from
two different sources, referred to as P1 and P2 herein and are
tested in duplicate (referred to as A and B). The membrane devices
tested are: 1% HPC P1 as control with no thermal treatment (AM),
used in duplicate (referred to as 1% HPC P1 AM A and B); modified
membranes (i.e., 4.00%-DACm1.00%-PEGDA) with no thermal treatment
(AM), which are as follows-DP4100P1 AM A; DP4100 P2 AM A; DP100 P2
AM A; D4 100 P1 AM B; and D4100P2 AM B; and modified membranes
(i.e., 4.00%-DACm1.00%-PEGDA) with steam-in-place treatment (SIP),
which are as follows--DP4100P1 SIP A; DP4100P2 SIP A; DP4100 P1 SIP
B; and DP4100 P2 SIP B. The X-axis represents the various membrane
devices and the Y axis represents the LRV.
[0046] FIG. 10 is a bar graph depicting average capacity and
permeability results (V75, V90 and 10.times. permeability) obtained
with PES membranes modified with PEGDA-575 ranging from 2 to 5%
using a chemically defined CHO cell culture medium. 1% HPC membrane
is used as control.
[0047] FIG. 11 is a bar graph depicting capacity of PES membranes
modified with PEGDA-575 ranging from 2 to 5% and minimum area
required to filter 1000 liters of medium in 4 hours. 1% HPC is used
as control membrane. The left Y-axis represents the Opti-CHO
filtrate volume and membrane capacity at 150 minutes and the right
Y-axis represents the minimum area to filter 1000 liters in four
hours.
[0048] FIG. 12 is a bar graph depicting capacities of various
membranes using 3 different chemically defined media (i.e.,
Cellvento CHO-200, CD Opti-CHO and DMEM spiked with 2 g/L Pluronic
F68). The membranes tested are: PES modified with 1% HPC (used as
control); PES membrane modified with 4% DACm-1% PEGDA; PES membrane
modified with 0% DACm-1% PEGDA; PES membrane modified with 1%
DACm-1% PEGDA; and PES membrane modified with 4% DACm-1% PEGDA. The
X-axis represents the type of membrane and the Y-axis represents
Amin, which is the minimum area required to filter 1000 liters of
medium in 4 hours.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0049] The embodiments described herein relate to compositions and
methods for removing a microorganism, e.g., a virus contaminant,
from a chemically defined cell culture media, where the
compositions exhibit reduced fouling by components of chemically
defined cell culture media.
[0050] In particular, the embodiments described herein provide
compositions and methods which employ a porous membrane having a
surface modified with a polymer comprising randomly arranged and
crosslinked monomers of diacetone acrylamide and one or more
non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers such as, for example,
polyethylene glycol diacrylates.
[0051] Also provided herein are methods of making virus barrier
membranes resistant to fouling by one or more components of
chemically defined cell culture media by modifying the surface of
such membranes with a polymer comprising randomly arranged and
crosslinked monomers of diacetone acrylamide and one or more
non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers (e.g., PEGDA).
[0052] In order that the embodiments disclosed herein may be more
readily understood, certain terms are first defined. Additional
definitions are set forth throughout the detailed description.
I. Definitions
[0053] The term "chemically defined cell culture media," refers to
a growth medium suitable for the cell culture of mammalian cells
(e.g., human or animal cells), in which all of the chemical
components are known. Examples of commercially available chemically
defined cell culture media include, but are not limited to, Lonza
Power CHO, CD Opti CHO, EMD Millipore Cellvento CHO 100 and
Cellvento CHO 200.
[0054] It has been demonstrated that hydrodynamic cell protecting
amphiphilic compounds, in particular Pluronic F68 (BASF) and/or
Poloxamer 188 (ICI) are the main media component(s) responsible for
membrane filter fouling in various commercially available
chemically defined cell culture media. Because one or more of these
components have been observed to cause membrane fouling, they
significantly reduce the effectiveness of membrane filters to
remove virus contaminants.
[0055] The embodiments described herein relate to membrane
compositions which are effective in removing virus contaminants
even in the presence of media components that are known to foul
membranes, e.g., Pluronic F68.
[0056] The terms "contaminant," "impurity," and "debris," as used
interchangeably herein, refer to an undesirable or objectionable
microorganism which may be present in a chemically defined cell
culture media. In a particular embodiment, such a microorganism is
a virus or a virus particle. In various embodiments, compositions
and methods described herein are intended to effectively remove
such virus contaminants from a chemically defined cell culture
media by filtering the chemically defined cell culture media
through a membrane filter that is modified to reduce or eliminate
fouling by certain components that are typically present in
commercially available chemically defined cell culture media.
Accordingly, the embodiments described herein provide compositions
that retain their virus retention capacity and membrane throughput
even when exposed to components that typically foul most virus
retention membranes.
[0057] Viral contaminants or potential viral contaminants that may
be removed using the compositions and methods described herein
include a member of the families of Orthomyxoviridae, Arenaviridae,
Paramyxoviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Coronaviridae, Flaviviridae,
Picornaviridae, Togaviridae, Arteriviridae, RetParvoviridae,
Bunyaviridae, Caliciviridae, Retroviridae, Reoviridae,
Circoviridae, Adenoviridae, Poxviridae, Herpesviridae, Iridoviridae
or Reoviridae. More specifically, the viral contaminant may be any
one of canine Parvoviridae (CPV), minute virus of mice (MVM), Cache
Valley virus, Bunyamwera virus, Northway encephalitis virus,
Influenza NB virus, Junin virus, Parainfluenza virus 1/2/3, Simian
virus 5, Mumps virus, Bovine respiratory syncytial virus, Sendai
virus, Newcastle disease virus, Pneumonia virus of mice, vesicular
stomatitis virus, Rabies virus, Bovine coronavirus, Murine
hepatitis virus, Yellow fever virus, West Nile virus, Dengue virus,
Tick borne encephalitis virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus,
Vesivirus 2117, Encephalomyocarditis virus, Coxsackie virus B-3,
Theiler's mouse encephalitis virus, Foot and mouth disease virus,
Bovine enterovirus, Porcine enterovirus, Semliki Forest virus,
Sindbis virus, Rubella virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Eastern
equine encephalitis virus, Porcine reproductive and respiratory
syndrome virus, Foamy virus, Reovirus 1/2/3, Avian reovirus,
Rotavirus, Porcine circovirus 1, Adenovirus, Pseudorabies virus,
Murine gammaherpes 68, Herpes simplex virus 1, Frog virus 3, minute
virus of mice-cutter (MVMc), bluetongue virus (BTV), Epizootic
haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), bovine viral diarrhea virus
(BVDV), porcine parvovirus (PPV), encephalomyocarditis virus
(EMCV), Reovirus 3, and murine leukemia virus (MuLV), Hepatitis A,
polio, or Parvoviridae B19.
[0058] The term "log reduction value" (LRV), as used herein, refers
to a measure of a membrane's efficiency to retain a particle, e.g.,
a virus contaminant, defined as the logarithm (base 10) of the
ratio of the particle count in a feed stream (e.g., a chemically
defined cell culture medium) to the particle count in the virus
filter membrane permeate. In various embodiments described herein,
the membrane filters achieve at least a 1 Log.sub.10 reduction
value (LRV) for a viral contaminant, or at least a 2 Log.sub.10
reduction value (LRV) for a viral contaminant, or at least a 3
Log.sub.10 reduction value (LRV) for a viral contaminant, or at
least a 4 Log.sub.10 reduction value (LRV) for a viral contaminant,
or at least a 5 Log.sub.10 reduction value (LRV) for a viral
contaminant, or at least a 6 Log.sub.10 reduction value for viral
contaminant, or at least a 7 Log.sub.10 reduction value for viral
contaminant, or at least a 8 Log.sub.10 reduction value for viral
contaminant, preferably at least a 4 Log.sub.10 reduction value
(LRV) for a viral contaminant.
[0059] The term "fouling" refers to a process where solute or
particles deposit onto a membrane surface or into membrane pores in
a way that degrades the membrane's performance, such as, decline in
membrane flux and/or throughput. In various embodiments described
herein, virus membrane filters are provided which are resistant to
or exhibit reduced fouling by one or more components present in
chemically defined cell culture medium. Further, methods provided
herein can be used for making compositions that are resistant to or
exhibit reduced fouling by one or more components of a chemically
defined cell culture medium.
[0060] The term "flux" or "membrane flux" (J), as used herein,
refers to the instantaneous rate of permeate flow, which is
generally variable in nature (expressed as the volume or weight of
a permeate solution passing through the virus filtration membrane
per unit of effective filtration area (EFA) per unit time, e.g.
L/(.sup.m2.times.hr), or g/(.sup.m2 hr), or Kg/(.sup.m2 hr)).
[0061] The term "initial flux" or "initial membrane flux"
(J.sub.0), as used herein, refers to the rate of permeate flow,
which is usually constant in nature, when the permeate stream
consists of a non-plugging fluid (i.e., water or a solution that
contains no membrane fouling components).
[0062] The term "flux decay" or "membrane flux decay" (J/J.sub.0),
as used herein, refers to the ratio of the instantaneous membrane
flux in a plugging permeate stream to the initial flux or the flux
determined by passing a non-plugging permeate stream through the
filter or membrane. It is often represented as a percentage, i.e.,
(J/J.sub.0)%.
[0063] The term, "flux decay curve" refers to the curve generated
when the flux decay (J/J.sub.0) is plotted versus time (t), or
versus volume (v) or versus mass (m) of filtrate collected, or
preferably, versus volume (v) or versus mass (m) of filtrate
collected per unit of effective filtration area (i.e., (J/J.sub.0)%
vs L/m.sup.2, or (J/J.sub.0)% vs Kg/m.sup.2).
[0064] The term "throughput performance", refers herein to the
quantity of filtrate that can be recovered per unit area of
effective filtration area before the flux drops to 25%, or to 10%,
of the initial flux (flux determined for a non-plugging
stream).
[0065] The term "batch filtration," refers herein to a filtration
process where a specific amount or volume of a chemically defined
medium is filtered through a membrane filter in one batch to
complete the filtration process, before the filtered media is
transferred to or used in the next step in a process.
[0066] The term "continuous filtration" or "in line filtration"
refers to a filtration process, wherein the specific amount or
volume of a chemically defined cell culture medium is filtered
through a membrane filter continuously and where the filtered
medium is transferred to or may be used in the next step in the
process as it is being filtered.
[0067] All embodiments described herein may be performed using
batch or continuous filtration.
[0068] The term "solid support," as used herein, generally refers
to any material which is modified with a polymer comprising
randomly arranged and crosslinked monomers of diacetone acrylamide
and one or more non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers. An
exemplary non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomer is polyethylene
glycol diacrylate (PEGDA).
[0069] Examples of solid support formats used in the methods and
compositions described herein include, but are not limited to,
membranes and monoliths. In a particular embodiment, the solid
support is a porous membrane whose surface is modified as described
herein. Exemplary membranes include porous asymmetric membranes,
e.g., a polyethersulfone membrane (PES), such as membranes made
using process described in U.S. Patent Publication No.
20120076934.
[0070] As used herein, the term "surface" refers to entire surface
area of a porous media or membrane, including external surfaces and
the internal surface of the porous media or membrane. The term
"external surface" means a surface that is exposed to view. The
term "internal surface" is intended to denote the internal surface
of a porous network, i.e., the interstitial area, of a porous media
or membrane.
[0071] As used herein, the term "polymer" refers to a polymer made
from at least two crosslinked monomers having reactive sites, where
the monomers are randomly arranged and can take part in a
polymerization reaction and where at least one monomer is diacetone
acrylamide. In some embodiments, a polymer comprises diacetone and
at least one or more non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers such
as, for example, polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA).
[0072] A monofunctional monomer is one that has a single
unsaturated functional group. Polyfunctional monomers are molecules
which have more than one unsaturated functional group.
[0073] The term "virus filter" or "virus retention filter" or
"viral retention filter" or "virus barrier filter" refers to a
membrane or media that retains viruses or virus-like particles in
order to provide virus removal or virus clearance during upstream
use (i.e., filtering a cell culture media prior to contacting with
cells) or downstream use (i.e., filtering a cell culture media
containing a recombinantly expressed protein). Examples of
commercially available virus retention filters include
Viresolve.RTM. Pro, Viresolve.RTM. NFP and Virosolve.RTM. NFR,
which function primarily via a size exclusion mechansim. The
embodiments described herein relate to virus barrier filters which
are intended for upstream use and are positioned upstream of a
bioreactor used for culturing cells expressing a protein of
interest. Such virus barrier filters are modified such that they
are resistant to or exhibit reduced fouling by one or more
components of a chemically defined cell culture medium.
[0074] The term "feed" or "feedstream", as used interchangeably
herein, refers to a solution or mixture that is to be subject to a
filtration process, e.g., a chemically defined cell culture
medium.
[0075] The term "filtrate" or "permeate," as used interchangeably
herein, refers to the solution that crosses a filter or membrane as
well as the solution that has crossed a filter or membrane.
[0076] The term "retentate," as used herein, refers to the
component of the solution that is retained and does not cross a
filter or membrane as well as that which has not crossed a filter
or membrane.
[0077] The term "bioreactor," as used herein, refers to any
manufactured or engineered device or system that supports a
biologically active environment. In some instances, a bioreactor is
a vessel in which a cell culture process is carried out that
involves organisms or biochemically active substances derived from
such organisms. Such a process may be either aerobic or anaerobic.
In some embodiments, a bioreactor ranges in size from liters to
cubic meters, and is made of stainless steel. In some embodiments,
a bioreactor is made of a material other than steel and is
disposable or single-use. It is contemplated that the total volume
of a bioreactor may be any volume ranging from 100 mL to up to
10,000 Liters or more, depending on a particular process. In some
embodiments according to the processes and systems described
herein, the bioreactor is connected to a virus filter described
herein, where the virus filter is present upstream of the
bioreactor.
II. Exemplary Solid Supports
[0078] Embodiments disclosed herein provide solid supports modified
with a polymer comprising randomly arranged crosslinked monomers.
The solid supports encompassed by the present application retain
virus contaminants present in a chemically defined cell culture
media, even in the presence of cell culture components that are
known to rapidly foul virus retention membranes used in downstream
virus purification applications. The solid supports encompassed by
the present application are resistant to or exhibit reduced fouling
by one or more components present in a chemically defined cell
culture medium.
[0079] Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is contemplated
that any suitable solid support format may be used. For example,
the solid support can be porous or non-porous or it can be
continuous, such as in the form of a monolith or membrane.
Exemplary continuous porous solid supports include microporous
membranes, i.e. having a pore sizes between about 0.05 micron and
10 micron. Porous membranes that may be used in the compositions
and methods according to the embodiments disclosed herein may be
classified as symmetric or asymmetric in nature, which refers to
the uniformity of the pore sizes across the thickness of the
membrane, or, for a hollow fiber, across the microporous wall of
the fiber.
[0080] As used herein, the term "symmetric membrane" refers to a
membrane that has substantially uniform pore size across the
membrane cross-section. In a particular embodiment, an asymmetric
membrane is used as a solid support. As used herein, the term
"asymmetric membrane" refers to a membrane in which the average
pore size is not constant across the membrane cross-section. In
some embodiments, in case of asymmetric membranes, pore sizes can
vary evenly or discontinuously as a function of location throughout
the membrane cross-section. In some embodiments, asymmetric
membranes can have a ratio of pore sizes on one external surface to
pore sizes on the opposite external surface, which ratio is
substantially greater than one. An example of an asymmetric
membrane which may be modified, as described herein, is a
polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. PES membrane can be commercially
obtained from vendors such as Sumitomo and Solvay.
[0081] A wide variety of membranes made from a wide variety of
materials may be used in the compositions and methods described
herein. Exemplary polymers that can be used to manufacture the
membranes that may be used in the compositions and methods
described herein include, but are not limited to, substituted or
unsubstituted polyacrylamides, polystyrenes, polymethacrylamides,
polyimides, polyacrylates, polycarbonates, polymethacrylates,
polyvinyl hydrophilic polymers, polystyrenes, polysulfones,
polyethersulfones, copolymers or styrene and divinylbenzene,
aromatic polysulfones, polytetrafluoroethylenes (PTFE),
perfluorinated thermoplastic polymers, polyolefins, aromatic
polyamides, aliphatic polyamides, ultrahigh molecular weight
polyethylenes, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF),
polyetheretherketones (PEEK), polyesters, and combinations
thereof.
[0082] Exemplary commercially available microporous membranes are
Durapore.RTM. and Millipore Express.RTM. available from EMD
Millipore Corp. (Billerica, Mass.); Supor.RTM. available from Pall
Corp. (Port Washington, N.Y.); and Sartopore.RTM. and
Sartobran.RTM. available from Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A.
(Aubagne Cedex, France). Other exemplary continuous solid supports
are monoliths, such as CIM.RTM. monolithic materials available from
BIA Separations (Villach, Austria).
[0083] Examples of commercially available virus retention filters
include Viresolve.RTM. Pro, Viresolve.RTM. NFP and Virosolve.RTM.
NFR, which function primarily via a size exclusion mechanism. The
base membrane substrate used for the manufacture of these virus
retention filters may be modified, as described herein, to result
in membranes which are resistant to or exhibit reduced fouling by
one or more components of a chemically defined cell culture
medium.
III. Methods of Modifying Solid Supports
[0084] In the compositions and methods described herein, suitable
solid supports (e.g., an asymmetric membrane, or specifically, an
asymmetric PES membrane) are modified with a polymer comprising
randomly arranged and crosslinked monomers of diacetone acrylamide
and one or more non-acrylamide cross-linkable monomers (e.g.,
polyethylene glycol diacrylate).
[0085] Various methods are known in the art for modifying the solid
supports including the ones described herein.
[0086] In various embodiments, the surface of a solid support
(e.g., a porous membrane) is modified using an energy source. A
variety of energy sources may be used to initiate the modification
via a polymerization reaction, e.g., gamma rays, x-rays, free
electrons, UV, blue light and heat. Gamma, x-ray, and electron beam
methods require no additional chemical initiator to cause
polymerization to occur as they are sufficiently energetic to
ionize the neutral monomers. However, UV and visible light both
require a photoinitiator to generate radical species which then can
activate monomers into highly reactive (radicalized) species which
in turn can react to form random polymers. This is true for
thermally initiated polymerization as well, wherein the initiator
may or may not be photo-active, or light activated.
[0087] In some embodiments described herein, a solid support (e.g.,
an asymmetric porous membrane such as a polyethersulfone membrane)
is modified using electron beam, as described below.
[0088] Typically, using an electron beam process, a membrane is
immersed into an appropriate concentration of a mixture of
monomers. In case the surface tension of the monomer solution is
too high, the membrane sample is pre-wet with a low molecular
weight alcohol (like methanol or isopropanol) and is subsequently
"exchanged" into a water bath before being immersed into the
monomer solution. In some instances, the monomer solution has a
sufficiently low surface tension to wet the membrane surface and in
this case, the pre-wet and exchange steps are unnecessary. The
membrane sample is then withdrawn from the monomer solutions and
nip-rolled to remove any excess monomer and to ensure that the
monomer solution is evenly distributed on and throughout the entire
membrane sample. The membrane sample is then exposed to free
electrons by passing the membrane sample under the electron beam
under an inerting blanket of nitrogen or argon gas. In some
embodiments, a linespeed of 3 to 10 m/minute is used. The electron
beam accelerating voltage is set to be between 170 and 200 KV and
the beam current in combination with the line speed is adjusted to
deliver a 20 to 30 KGy dosage to the membrane sample. These
conditions allow the membrane sample to be completely modified
through the entire cross-section of the membrane.
IV. Methods of Measuring Throughput Performance of Membranes
[0089] In some embodiments, modified solid supports (e.g., a porous
membrane) described herein are incorporated into devices, e.g., the
devices used in the Examples described herein, and the devices are
subsequently used for measuring the throughput performance of the
membranes or membrane devices.
[0090] The present invention is based, at least in part, on the
superior properties of the modified membranes described herein, in
that, the throughput performance of the membranes is not adversely
affected, even in the presence of membrane fouling components found
in chemically defined cell culture media. Accordingly, the methods
of modifying solid supports described herein can be used for
reducing the fouling of a porous membrane by one or more components
of a chemically defined cell culture medium, when filtering the
medium through the membrane.
[0091] The throughput performance can be measured by first
determining the permeability (flux/unit of driving pressure) of the
membrane device using a non-plugging feedstream. The non-plugging
feedstream is generally comprised of pure water, or an aqueous
buffer containing dissolved organic and/or inorganic salts.
[0092] The permeability of the membrane or membrane device is
defined as the amount of material (in liters or kilograms) per unit
area per unit time per unit pressure, often expressed as L/(m.sup.2
h psi), or "liters per meter-squared per hour per psi". If the
experiment is run at a constant driving pressure, the device
effective filtration area (EFA) and the driving pressure are
constants. The only observables are mass of filtrate and time (or
volume of filtrate and time). Mass and volume can be used
interchangeably when the filtrate density is very close to unity.
When the feedstream is not plugging, the permeability remains
constant and the "buffer" flux of the device "J.sub.0" is
determined by the slope of the straight line obtained by plotting
mass or volume of filtrate collected vs time.
[0093] When the same experiment is run with the plugging stream
(e.g., in this case, chemically-defined cell culture media), the
flux will decay with time as the device pores become occluded with
whatever fouling species the plugging stream contains. This flux is
simply referred to as "J". When the relative flux decay, expressed
as a percentage (and represented by (J/J.sub.0)%) reaches some
pre-determined value, say 25%, the capacity of that device is
defined as amount of filtrate (of the plugging feedstream) per unit
area of the device that can be recovered by the time the flux has
decayed to 25% of the maximum possible flux value of the device, or
that flux obtained using the non-plugging feedstream. The capacity
as defined in the foregoing description is one numerical or
quantitative measure of throughput performance. It is not the only
way to measure throughput performance, but it is fairly
typical.
[0094] Two commonly used points at which device capacities are
determined are: (a) when the flux decays to 25% of the maximum
device flux (V75--when flux has decayed by 75%); and, (b) when the
flux decays to 10% of the maximum device flux (V90--when flux has
decayed by 90%). Alternatively, capacity may also be defined as the
minimum filtration area needed to filter a fixed amount of a
particular feed stream or as a time interval in which to filter a
particular amount of a particular feed stream. Any or all of these
quantities can be considered as a measure or measures of throughput
performance.
V. Methods of Using the Compositions and Devices Described
Herein
[0095] In various embodiments, the modified virus retentive
membranes described herein are used upstream of a bioreactor in
order to retain viruses that may be present in a chemically defined
cell culture medium prior to transfer into the bioreactor.
[0096] For example, in some embodiments, such a virus retentive
membrane is incorporated into a device which is then sterilized.
The device is then positioned upstream of the bioreactor (at the
inlet port) using sterile connectors, and is used to filter a
freshly-prepared cell culture medium in a normal filtration mode
while the cell culture medium is being transferred into the
bioreactor. Consequently, any parvovirus contamination can be
reduced to 1/10000 of the level existing before filtration
(corresponding to a minimum log reduction value (LRV) of 4).
[0097] Embodiments are further illustrated by the following
examples which should not be construed as limiting. The contents of
all references, patents and published patent applications cited
throughout this application, as well as the Figures, are
incorporated herein by reference.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Methods for Modification of a Membrane Surface with a
Diacetone Acrylamide Monomer
[0098] Various methods for modifying a membrane surface with a
diacetone acrylamide monomer are explored.
[0099] The first method involves dip-coating. A 10% by weight
aqueous hexylene glycol solution is prepared. Six grams of
diacetone acrylamide (DACm) monomer is dissolved into 194 g of the
hexylene glycol-water solution to result in a final solution that
is 3% w/w diacetone acrylamide. A 14 cm.times.14 cm highly
asymmetric unmodified hydrophobic polyethersulfone (PES) virus
membrane is placed in the DACm solution in a shallow rectangular
pyrex baking pan, such that the open face of the membrane comes in
contact with the solution first followed by immersion of the
membrane into the DACm solution for several minutes. The membrane
is withdrawn and placed on an absorbent sheet to remove excess
solution and then allowed to air dry on paper towels under ambient
air drying conditions. The dry membrane is contacted with Milli-Q
water and exhibits instant water wetting. The wet membrane is
rinsed with water until no evidence of DACm monomer or hexylene
glycol cosolvent residues is found, after which the sample is again
air dried. When the re-dried membrane is placed into contact with
Milli-Q water, the membrane does not wet. No adsorption of any DACm
monomer onto the PES membrane substrate could be demonstrated, as
water easily removes the DACm monomer subsequent to the initial
monomer treatment.
[0100] In another experiment, a 2.00% by weight aqueous DACm
solution is prepared by dissolving 4.00 grams of DACm into 196.00
grams of Milli-Q water. The solution is applied by immersion on to
a methanol pre-wet (and water exchanged) highly asymmetric,
hydrophobic PES virus removal membrane measuring 14 cm.times.14 cm.
The procedure is carried out by contacting the open face of the
membrane with the DACm solution in a shallow rectangular pyrex
baking pan followed by gentle agitation to immerse the membrane
into the solution wherein it is allowed to sit for several (2-3)
minutes after which the monomer solution is rinsed off with water
until no surfactant activity (bubbles) is observed in the rinse
water. After drying and testing for water wetting, it is observed
that no DACm remains on the membrane as the membrane remains
hydrophobic following the treatment described above. Accordingly,
simple adsorption of DACm monomer onto a PES membrane shows no
permanent affinity and this dip-coating strategy is not
utilized.
[0101] In a further experiment, electron beam polymerization of
DACm onto a membrane is investigated. In this experiment, the same
2.00 weight % aqueous solution of DACm monomer is applied to
another identical highly asymmetric hydrophobic PES virus removal
pre-wet membrane after which the membrane is nipped between two 100
um thick clear polypropylene sheets to remove excess monomer
solution. The membrane is then passed under an electron-beam source
(for a 25 KGy exposure to 170 KeV electrons) to polymerize the DACm
monomer onto the membrane. Surprisingly, the resulting membrane is
slow to wet in water even though the monomer itself is readily
water soluble. However, the resultant membrane wet completely in a
Milli-Q water bath within 45 seconds, indicating that a DACm
homopolymer is formed on the membrane by this treatment. The
treated membrane is also observed to be impervious to autoclave and
dry heat, even though no cross-linking monomer is used in
combination with the DACm monomer. Further, no change in water
wetting behavior or water permeability is observed after a 2 hour
room temperature soak in 0.2M NaOH(aq). However, the coating does
wash off with methanol.
[0102] Further testing in 0.5M NaOH over a 16 hour static soak
demonstrates that the resulting homopolymer membrane is caustic
stable up to 4 hours, after which, the homopolymer surface
modification begins to deteriorate. This is demonstrated by
modifying a series of identical preweighed membrane samples, using
the same monomer solution and subjecting them to the identical
e-beam initiated polymerization process. The samples are again
weighed after surface modification and drying and any add-on weight
by diacetone acrylamide homopolymer is determined for each membrane
sample. These membrane samples are then immersed in a 0.5M NaOH
solution and withdrawn one at a time at successive time intervals.
It is observed that the surface modification starts to deteriorate
only after 4 hours.
[0103] Although the electron beam initiated polymerization of DACm
onto a membrane is successful compared to the other methods
described above, the effect on membrane throughput needs to be
investigated.
Example 2: Throughput Performance of DACm Homopolymer-Modified
Membranes Using Electron Beam Initiated Polymerization with and
without Pluronic F68 Exposure
[0104] A range of aqueous DACm solutions are prepared at 2, 4, 6,
8, and 10 weight %. These solutions are then used to surface modify
highly asymmetric hydrophobic PES membrane measuring 14 cm.times.14
cm using the electron beam process described above.
[0105] The membranes are then subject to throughput testing as per
the following outlined procedure.
[0106] Circular membrane samples, 25 mm in diameter, are cut from
each of the modified membranes prepared as described above and
assembled into over-molded microscale filter devices. The devices
include a housing with a fluid inlet on top and a fluid outlet at
the bottom with the disk-shaped filter element contained in the
central radial portion of the housing. Each fluid inlet has an
integral vent to allow air and fluid to escape and purge the volume
directly above the actual filter element.
[0107] Each device is connected to two fluid delivery manifolds,
constructed of 0.25 inch polypropylene tubing by a sub-manifold
assembled from a 0.25 inch polypropylene tubing as well as
compatible Luer fittings and valves. One manifold delivers Milli-Q
water (non-plugging stream) to each of the devices and the other
manifold delivers chemically defined cell culture media dissolved
in Milli-Q water (plugging stream) to each of the devices. Each
manifold is constructed to support and supply 10 such filter
devices. Each of the fluid delivery manifolds is connected to a
separate pressure vessel, which acts as a test fluid reservoir.
Each pressure vessel is supplied individually by a regulated
pressurized air supply set to deliver fluid to the devices at 30
psi or approximately 2 bar (2.times.10.sup.5 Pa). A load cell with
a fluid collection container is mounted below each filter device to
measure the mass of the collected filtrate as a function of time.
Each load cell is connected to a multi-channel data acquisition
board which is in-turn interfaced to a computer running data
acquisition software to record the filtrate mass collected (in
grams) versus time (in adjustable units, but typically in
minutes).
[0108] Additionally, the effect of Pluronic F68 membrane exposure
or pre-treatment is investigated. Pre-treatment or exposure to
Pluronic F68 involves passing several (.about.5) milliliters of a
stock aqueous 10% (100 g/Liter) Pluronic F68 solution through each
filter assembly by syringe followed by a copious extractive rinse
with Milli-Q water until no froth or bubbles are observed in the
rinse water while the Milli-Q water rinse is being carried out.
[0109] It is observed that the samples pre-treated with Pluronic
F68 show improved throughput performance over those samples without
the Pluronic F68 pre-treatment. These results indicate that DACm
treated membranes may offer enhanced fouling resistance to cell
culture media containing Pluronic F68. The throughput performance
test results are summarized below in Table I and also shown in FIG.
1.
[0110] Throughput performance is quantitatively referred to as the
membrane capacity. Accordingly, the membrane capacity is feed
stream dependent. Capacities are represented in this experiment by
two measurements, referred to as V75 and V90, which correspond to
Liters of filtrate collected per square meter of effective membrane
surface area when flux has decayed to 25% and 10%, respectively, of
the initial flux (in units of [L/m.sup.2]). Initial flux is
determined from membrane permeability, which is in turn determined
by measuring the volume of non-plugging stream passed through a
membrane per unit time per driving pressure. Membrane permeability
herein is represented in units of Liters of filtrate collected per
unit area (m.sup.2) per unit time (hrs) per unit driving pressure
(psi), or [L/(m.sup.2 h psi). The driving pressure of 30 psi is
used for this and subsequent throughput experiments.
[0111] Table I depicts the membrane throughput performance results
for diacetone acrylamide homopolymer modified membranes without
(rows 1-5) and with (2.sup.nd 5 rows 6-10) Pluronic F68 exposure or
pre-treatment.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE I Device with Final Final modified Vol@150
Volume Time membrane V75 V90 10XPerm min (ml) (min) 2% DACm 160 392
341 133 133 147 4% DACm 87 300 416 125 125 147 6% DACm 132 430 351
125 134 147 8% DACm 138 420 293 125 126 151 10% DACm 210 500 331
155 154 148 2% DACm F68 280 550 294 155 170 180 4% DACm F68 140 415
265 118 118 148 6% DACm F68 207 540 315 149 163 177 8% DACm F68 235
540 287 145 164 187 10% DACm F68 290 600 294 162 178 177
[0112] In general, it is observed that the throughput performance
of the membranes increases with increasing DACm levels used for
membrane treatment, all the way up to 10%. Additionally, an
improvement in throughput performance is observed for the DACm
modified membranes that are pre-treated with or exposed to Pluronic
F68 relative to the membranes not pre-treated with or exposed to
Pluronic F68. Therefore, Pluronic F68 does not appear to have a
fouling effect on the DACm modified membranes.
[0113] However, leaching tests with the foregoing membranes showed
that, at least for the higher DACm levels, DACm homopolymer leached
upon contact with methanol, after which the membrane flow
characteristics and wettability were impacted. The leaching tests
suggest that without cross-linking the DACm monomer, it is not
possible to assure low extractables and achieve consistent membrane
performance. Furthermore, accidental exposure to low molecular
weight alcohols presents an undesirable material vulnerability.
Example 3: Selection of Crosslinkers for the DACm Monomer
[0114] Several potential crosslinkers for the DACm monomer are
tested in this Example. Tetraethylene glycol diacrylate (TEDGA) is
investigated as a potential crosslinker for the DACm monomer.
However, the modification with DACm and TEGDA does not produce a
stable cross-linked surface modification. Subsequently, a
water-soluble and non-acrylamide crosslinking monomer, polyethylene
glycol diacrylate (PEGDA), is tried as the crosslinker in place of
TEGDA. A 575 average MWt PEG diacrylate (PEGDA575) is reported as
possessing the best water solubility of the available MWt PEG
diacrylates. The first crosslinker level that is tested is 1%.
[0115] To select a starting DACm level for combination with the
crosslinker, the 2 to 10 Wt % DACm homopolymer modified membranes
are again inspected for water-wetting speed and permeability. It is
found that the 4% DACm-modified membrane wets out faster and more
uniformly in water than the other DACm homopolymer modified
membranes. Consequently, 4.00% DACm is selected as the starting
DACm level to be used in a crosslinked surface modification
chemistry with 1% PEGDA575. The monomer mix is applied by e-beam in
the same fashion as that described above, with the exception that
the monomer solution is comprised of 4.00 Wt % DACm monomer in
combination with 1.00 Wt % PEGDA monomer in 95 Wt % of Milli-Q
water.
[0116] The effectiveness of the crosslinking, characterized by the
permanence of this coating, is confirmed by soaking the resulting
modified membrane samples in methanol followed by water rinse and
drying, and then retesting the wetting and permeability. The
results of water wetting and water permeability tests are
essentially identical to those recorded before the methanol
extraction step. Therefore, the modification is considered to be
stable.
[0117] Further, in a separate experiment, the use of a
non-acrylamide crosslinker is investigated and compared to an
acrylamide crosslinker, with respect to the effect on membrane
throughput performance. PEGDA575 is used as the non-acrylamide
cross-linkable monomer and methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBAm) is used
as an acrylamide cross-linkable monomer. An experimental prototype
chemically defined CHO cell culture medium, MX-201 or Beta-CHO, is
used as the plugging or fouling feed stream in this experiment.
Each cross-linking monomer (PEGDA or MBAm) is used at an identical
1.00 weight percent treat level (1.00 Wt %). Each of these
cross-linkers is separately combined with 4% DACm (diacetone
acrylamide) to form the polymer mix using Milli-Q water as
solvent.
[0118] FIG. 2 represents flux decay curves for duplicate 25 mm
diameter membrane devices, each with one of three surface modified
membranes. These are: (a) 4% DACm-1% MBAm; (b) 4% DACm-1% PEGDA575;
and (c) 1% HPC.
[0119] Table II below summarizes the results of one such experiment
used to measure flux decay, V70, V90 and 10.times. permeabilities,
also as depicted in FIG. 3, which depicts capacities and
permeabilities of 4% DACm-1% MBAm and 4% DACm-1% PEGDA modified PES
membranes relative to the 1% HPC control membrane. A chemically
defined CHO cell culture medium is used as the feedstream.
[0120] As observed, 4% DACm-1% MBAm membrane exhibits lower
throughput performance relative to 1% HPC membrane. However, the 4%
DACm-1% PEGDA575 membrane exhibits higher throughput performance
relative to 1% HPC.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE II Membrane Avg Avg Avg 10X SD SD SD 10X ID
V75 V90 Perm V75 V90 Perm 1% HPC 255 588 302 99.7 109.6 3.54 4%
DACm 131 555 336 7.1 63.6 4.24 1% MBAm 4% DACm 1730 2475 281 325.3
176.8 4.95 1% PEGDA *SD stands for standard deviation
[0121] Accordingly, a non-acrylamide based cross-linkable monomer
(e.g., PEGDA) is a far better choice to use with DACm compared to
an acrylamide based cross-linkable monomer (e.g., MBAm).
Example 4: Comparative Throughput Performance Testing of
Crosslinked Copolymer Modified Membranes
[0122] The surface modifications are further tested in a manner
identical to the methodology described previously for throughput
performance. The following results are taken from the first
capacity tests carried out with DACm-PEGDA575 copolymer
chemistry.
[0123] As explained in the previous example with DACm homopolymer,
all the quantities presented below in Table III have the same
meaning and units, except that the average values for duplicate
samples are presented.
[0124] Table III depicts the average capacities (V75 and V90 in
units of [L/m.sup.2] and permeabilities in units of [L/(m.sup.2 h
psi]) for duplicate capacity determinations from the first
comparative test using DACm-PEGDA575 copolymer membrane surface
modification chemistry.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE III Average Average V75 Average V90
Permeability Surface Modification [L/m.sup.2] [L/m.sup.2]
[L/(m.sup.2 h psi)] 1L-1% HPC 255 588 30.2 1L-3.75% LB20 532 893
35.6 1L-4.00% DACm- 131 555 33.6 1.00% MBAm 1L-2.00% LB20- 675 995
27.2 1.00% HEA-0.75TEGDA 1L-4.00% DACm- 1730 2475 28.1 1.00%
PEGDA575
[0125] All devices are constructed with the same starting membrane
material (highly asymmetric unmodified hydrophobic PES virus
retentive membrane with a 20 nm nominal pore size rating). Each
filter device is constructed to house a single layer (1L-) of each
of the various surface modified membranes. The surface modification
chemistries applied onto each membrane sample are described
below.
[0126] HPC is an adsorbed polymer pretreatment applied by immersion
and comprising an aqueous 1.00 Wt % hydroxypropyl cellulose
solution with 10% hexylene glycol used as a membrane wetting aid.
LB20 is a self-crosslinking highly-ethoxylated triacrylate monomer
applied by in situ electron beam curing. DACm stands for diacetone
acrylamide, a monofunctional vinylic monomer, and MBAm stands for
methylene-bis-acrylamide, a diacrylamide crosslinker which forms a
copolymer with DACm. HEA stands for hydroxyethyl acrylate, a
monofunctional vinylic monomer. TEGDA stands for tetraethylene
glycol diacrylate, a difunctional or crosslinking monomer, as is
PEGDA575, which is a 575 number-average MWt polyethylene glycol
diacrylate. DACm-MBAm is a copolymeric surface modification applied
by electron beam curing as is DACm-PEGDA575. LB20, HEA, and TEGDA
form a terpolymeric surface modification, also applied onto the
membrane by an electron beam curing process.
[0127] FIG. 4 is a bar graph depicting the average capacities and
permeabilities of the various membrane devices tested, as described
above. As seen in FIG. 4, a significant improvement in throughput
performance is observed for the DACm-PEGDA575 copolymer modified
membrane device relative to the other modifications tested in this
Example.
[0128] FIG. 5 depicts volume versus time curves for each of the
devices tested herein. As depicted in FIG. 5, a much higher
quantity of filtrate was collected for the DACm-PEGDA575 copolymer
modified membrane device relative to the other modifications tested
in this Example.
[0129] In a further experiment, a chemically defined CHO cell
cuture medium, MX-201 (or Beta-CHO), is used as the feed stream.
V-Pro membrane (PHHC membrane modified with 1% hydroxypropyl
cellulose) containing devices are used as controls. Devices labeled
as 375LB20 are made with a 3.75% LB20 (20 mole-ethoxylated
trimethylol propane triacrylate) monomer mix made up in Milli-Q and
cured onto the membrane by e-beam. Devices labeled as 200L, 100H
and 075T are 2% LB20, 1% HEA, and 0.75% TEGDA, respectively, all
dissolved in Milli-Q water. The devices labeled as 4DACm1PEGDA
include 4% DACm and 1% PEGDA575 in Milli-Q water. All chemistries
are applied with a 25 KGy e-beam dosage.
[0130] A very significant increase in throughput performance of the
4DACm1PEGDA device is observed relative to the other candidate
chemistries tested.
[0131] In a further experiment, PEGDA575 on identical membrane
devices as described above, is tested on its own at concentrations
ranging from 2% to 5% (also prepared by the same e-beam process as
described above) and throughput performance is comparable to that
obserbed with the 4DACm1PEGDA device.
[0132] Subsequently, the same chemically defined cell culture media
as described above is used with a device containing 5% PEGDA575. An
improved throughput performance advantage is again confirmed.
[0133] In a yet further experiment, compositions containing DACm
and PEGDA monomers at different concentrations are evaluated for
throughput performance of membranes modified with the these
monomers. The following compositions are prepared and tested:
compositions containing 4% DACm with 0.75%, 1.25%, 1.50% 2.00% and
2.50% PEGDA are prepared. In addition, a composition containing 3%
DACm with 3% PEGDA575 is prepared.
[0134] FIG. 6 depicts flux decay curves obtained from each of the
membrane devices tested. As depicted in FIG. 6, the DACm-PEGDA575
copolymer modified membrane device has a throughput performance
advantage over the other modifications tested, by way of a slower
flux decay.
Example 5: Evaluation of Thermal Stability of DACm-PEGDA Copolymer
Modified Membranes
[0135] DACm-PEGDA copolymer modified membranes are further
evaluated for thermal stability, as thermal stability is desirable
for sterilization.
[0136] Thermal stability is addressed by subjecting modified
membrane to wet autoclave conditions (1 Hr cycle at 134.degree.
C.), dry heat conditions (1 Hr cycle at 135.degree. C.), and
steam-in-place (SIP) conditions (1/2 Hr live steam-in-place
cycle).
[0137] Autoclave treatment involves subjecting an object (membrane
or device, in this case) to a static closed chamber heating cycle
with water under conditions in which liquid water exists in
equilibrium with its vapor above atmospheric pressure for a time
interval over and above that necessary to sterilize the object.
[0138] Dry heat treatment involves, just as the term suggests,
subjecting an object (membrane or device) to dry air at some
predetermined temperature (in this case) equivalent to the
autoclave temperature described in a convection oven to determine
whether conditions that might be encountered during device
fabrication might compromise the object's performance.
[0139] Steam-in-place treatment involves subjecting an object
(membrane or device) to live steam under dynamic conditions in
which the steam is non-condensing (at a specific temperature and
pressure above the boiling point of water) and is transported
through the membrane or the device housing the membrane or some
like (filter) element so as to sterilize all surfaces exposed to
the steam.
[0140] In each case, the membrane capacities are tested by
fabricating micro-scale devices, as described above, with the
thermally treated membranes, measuring throughput performance, and
comparing throughput performance results with those obtained from
non-heat-treated devices as controls.
[0141] In the first set of experiments, the membranes are exposed
to wet autoclave conditions.
[0142] All devices except the IL-1% HPC control are fabricated with
monomer mixes containing 4.00% diacetone acrylamide (DACm). The
PEGDA575 level is varied and includes 1.00% 1.25% and 1.50%. Some
devices use a 2-layer filter element and are designated as 2L-.
[0143] Table IV depicts membrane throughput performance, as
measured by V75, V90 and 10.times. permeabilities of the various
membranes, either following no-thermal treatment, or following
autoclaving of the devices or following autoclaving of the
membranes before device fabrication.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE IV V75 V90 10X Perm Device ID [L/m.sup.2]
[L/m.sup.2] [L/m.sup.2 h psi] 1L-4% DACm-1% PEGDA575 AM 475 1100
303 2L-4% DACm-1% PEGDA575 AM 1 1300 1700 154 1L-4% DACm-1%
PEGDA575 ACD 675 1500 313 1L-4% DACm-1.25% PEGDA575 ACD 500 1400
266 1L-4% DACm-1.5% PEGDA575 ACD 1500 2500 273 2L-4% DACm-1%
PEGDA575 AM 2 2100 3000 199 1L-4% DACm-1% PEGDA575 ACM 885 1500 301
1L-4% DACm-1.25% PEGDA575 1250 1800 300 ACM 1L-4% DACm-1.5%
PEGDA575 ACM 1700 2500 280 1L-1% HPC 185 460 329 AM = As Modified
(no thermal treatment); ACD = Autoclaved Devices; and, ACM =
Autoclaved Membrane (followed by device fabrication before
testing)
[0144] The results of one such representative experiment are
depicted in FIG. 7, which depicts the membrane throughput
performance of the various membranes, as measured using V75, V90
and 10.times. permeabilities, either following no thermal treatment
(AM), following autoclaving of the membrane containing devices
(ACD) or following autoclaving of the membranes prior to device
fabrication (ACM). The performance results include membrane device
permeabilities (constant flow of non-plugging stream (water) with
micro-scale devices (3.1 cm.sup.2 effective filtration area (EFA)),
and capacities determined at V75 and V90, determined using 4 g/L
human plasma-derived IgG in acetate buffer at pH 4 and 2 mS/cm
conductivity. In FIG. 7, 1L and 2L stand for one layer and two
layer membrane devices, respectively; DP4100 stands for 4.00% DACm
and 1.00% PEGDA; DP4125 stands for 4.00% DACm and 1.25% PEGDA; and
DP4150 stands for 4.00% DACm and 1.50% PEGDA.
[0145] As observed, for most part, for all membrane devices which
are subjected to autoclaving, either device containing the membrane
is autoclaved or membrane is autoclaved prior to device
fabrication, the membrane performance appears to improve with an
increase in the PEGDA level, as well as over the control 1L-1% HPC
membrane.
[0146] In another experiment, a similar but not completely
identical series of membrane devices are exposed to dry heat cycle
(135.degree. C. for 1 Hr). In this experiment, all membranes are
fabricated into single layer devices. Experimental membrane devices
are fabricated with membranes modified using a monomer mix that
contains 4.00% diacetone acrylamide (DACm) and 1% PEGDA575
(DP4100), or with a monomer mix that contains 4% DACm and 2%
PEGDA575 (DP4200). Controls devices (2) are made by modifying
starting membranes with an adsorbed coating of 1%
hydroxypropylcellulose (1% HPC) which are fabricated into identical
devices as the devices housing the membranes modified with the DACm
and PEGDA. The membrane which is modified is a PES membrane from
two separate sources, referred to as P1 and P2.
[0147] Table V presents the results of one such experiment, as also
depicted in FIG. 8. The membrane throughput performance is measured
using V75, V90 and 10.times. permeability values, as previously
described. As observed, the capacities (V75 and V90) of all
experimental devices containing modified membranes are very
similar, regardless of the differences between membrane
modification formulations (DP4100, DP4200), and regardless of
whether or not the membranes are subjected to the dry heat thermal
treatment; however, the capacities of the modified membranes in
general are higher than that of the control membranes (1L-1% HPC P1
and 1L-1% HPC P2). Interestingly, however, the performance
improvement obtained with increased PEGDA level, as seen with
autoclave treatment is not observed using dry heat treatment
[0148] Table V depicts the capacity and permeability results from a
comparative throughput experiment using devices fabricated with
as-modified membrane samples (AM) and comparing to identical
devices subjected to an additional dry heat thermal treatment
(135.degree. C., 1 hour).
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE V V75 V90 10X Perm Device ID [L/m.sup.2]
[L/m.sup.2] [L/m.sup.2h psi] 1% HPC P1 65 393 348 DP4100 AM P1 1000
1100 288 DP4100 DH P1 975 1100 333 DP4200 AM P1 1100 1200 225
DP4200 DH P1 1175 1250 261 DP4100 AM P2 1150 1225 280 DP4100 DH P2
1150 1225 291 DP4200 AM P2 975 1000 219 DP4200 DH P22 1175 1250 261
1% HPC P2 275 700 339 AM = As Modified Devices (no thermal
treatment); DH = Dry Heat Cycled Devices. P1 and P2 represent PES
membranes from two different sources. 1% HPC identifies control
membrane devices (used in duplicate).
[0149] In yet another experiment, the various membrane devices are
subjected to a steam-in-place (SIP) process to determine how the
standard steam-in-place process impacts throughput performance
(water permeability, media capacity, retention).
[0150] The chemistries described herein are applied to membranes
from two different PES membrane sources (membranes P1 and P2). One
half of the prepared membrane samples are subject to SIP
conditions. All membrane samples are assembled into microscale
devices and are both are tested for throughput performance
(permeability and capacity), and also for retention of virus-like
particles.
[0151] Table VI presents results of an experiment in which
permeability, feed throughput, capacity, and the retention of a
bacteriophage are determined for various membranes. The feed
consists of experimental MX-201 (Beta-CHO) cell culture media in
Milli-Q water spiked with 1.times.10.sup.8 pfu/uL PHI-X174
bacteriophage. The results are determined for single membrane
element 25 mm diameter micro-scale devices (3.1 cm.sup.2 EFA). Each
device contains a different membrane either with the as-modified
(AM) designation which are not subjected to any thermal treatment,
or with the stream-in-place (SIP) designation. All membranes are
PES in composition and manufactured from one of two different
polymer sources referred to and identified as either P1 or P2. Each
membrane is run in duplicate with duplicates identified as either A
or B. Membranes identified as 1% HPC are not subject to SIP
treatment for this test. These are used as controls and serve to
demonstrate a level of variability in device performance. These
membrane devices are fabricated from the P1 polymer modified with
1% HPC. Membranes identified as DP4100 are modified using the 4%
DACm-1% PEGDA inventive surface modification embodiment which is
applied to both the P1 polymer and the P2 polymer membranes.
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE VI Permeability V120 min Amin Initial Final
Membrane ID (LMH/psi) (mL) (m.sup.2) LRV LRV 1% HPC P1 A 25.57
419.20 1.69 4.8 4.9 AM 1% HPC P1 B 27.44 426.12 1.73 5.6 5.6 AM
DP4100 P1 A 22.78 641.74 1.13 5.6 5.4 AM DP4100 P1 A 22.95 597.19
1.17 5.9 5.7 SIP DP4100 P2 A 23.48 684.50 1.02 5.3 5.0 AM DP4100 P2
A 24.25 679.53 1.03 5.3 5.4 SIP DP4100 P1 B 24.69 674.16 1.07 5.5
5.2 AM DP4100 P1 B 24.41 685.41 1.09 5.2 4.9 SIP DP4100 P2 B 22.80
659.67 1.04 5.5 5.5 AM DP4100 P2 B 23.39 667.69 1.08 5.2 4.9
SIP
[0152] Permeability is determined by passing non-plugging buffer
(Milli-Q water in this case) through the device for a 10 to 15
minute interval and recording the quantity of buffer collected. The
plugging stream containing the cell culture media dissolved in
Milli-Q water is then passed through the device. Medium throughput
(collected filtrate mass or volume) is measured at 120 minutes from
the start of the experiment. Membrane capacity is determined as a
minimum area, expressed as Amin, in units of square meters
(m.sup.2). The minimum area can be arbitrarily defined as the
membrane area required to collect a given quantity of filtrate
within a given time interval. In this case, the minimum area is
defined as the filter area needed to collect or filter 1000 Liters
of feed in a 4 hour time and is calculated from the flux decay
curve (raw experimental volume vs time data) recorded for each
device.
[0153] Retention is determined by spiking Phi-X174 bacteriophage
(Promega Catalog No. 11041) into the feed at a titer of
2-5.times.10' pfu/uL (plaque-forming units per microliter). A 1 ml
feed sample is secured from the feed reservoir before beginning the
throughput experiment. Once the experiment is started, an initial 1
ml retention sample is secured at the outlet of each device after
about one minute. Before terminating the experiment, a final 1 ml
retention sample is secured at each device. When the experiment is
terminated, the feed is sampled at the feed reservoir again. The
feed reservoir samples are used to measure the titers and thus the
viability of the phage at the start and end of the test. The
filtrate samples taken at the device outlets at the initial and
final points during the test are used to determine the numerical
difference between the initial viable bacteriophage titer and the
final viable bacteriophage titer. These differences between initial
and final titers from the device outlets relative to the feed
reservoir samples are used to determine the log reduction value
(LRV) for each device. In general, the LRV is a measure of how
effective virus removal is. Each unit log value represents a
reduction in the virus titer by an order of magnitude (10.times.).
Therefore, an LRV of 5 means that virus concentration of the
filtrate is 1/100000 of the virus concentration of the feed. The
initial and final retention results are depicted in FIGS. 9a and
9b, respectively. FIG. 9a presents the Initial LRV values, one for
each device. FIG. 9b presents the Final LRV values, one for each
device. Notably no significant change in LRV occurs after the SIP
treatment, and that no significant change in LRV occurs between
initial and final LRV measurements for any devices tested in this
experiment. However, significant capacity improvements are observed
for all DP4100 devices relative to the 1% HPC devices.
Example 6: Evaluation of Throughput Performance of DACm-Free
Membranes
[0154] In a representative experiment, membranes modified with
PEGDA alone (2 to 5%) are made, in order to investigate whether
DACm is a necessary component to achieve the desirable throughput
performance. A series of membranes are modified using PEGDA575
concentration ranging from 2% to 5% by weight in water in 1%
increments. A PES membrane is used as the base membrane and a 1%
hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) modified membrane, as previously
described, is used as a control. Throughput performance testing on
this membrane series is carried out using a prototype
chemically-defined cell culture medium (Beta-CHO, also referred to
as MX-201). The various membrane modifications are made using
electron beam initiated in-situ polymerization of the PEGDA575
solution-wetted PES base membrane in order to impart increasing
levels of polymer onto the membrane surface with increasing (2%,
3%, 4%, and 5%) PEGDA treatment level. The average capacity and the
average permeability of each modification level (duplicate
determinations) are depicted in FIG. 10.
[0155] As depicted in FIG. 10, capacity increases with increase in
PEGDA treat level concentration, while the permeability is
conversely observed to decrease.
[0156] With respect to the overall throughput performance, all
PEGDA modified membranes outperformed controls by a significant
factor (V75: 2.86 to 4.72; V90: 3.96 to 6.10). The performance
results are compared to those summarized in Table III, where the 4%
DACm-1% PEGDA575 modification resulted in performance improvement
factors of 6.78 for V75 and 4.29 for V90 over 1% HPC-modified
membranes. Furthermore, formulation (HEA-TEGDA, also in Table III)
gave performance improvement factors over control membranes of 2.65
for V75 and 1.69 for V90.
[0157] In another representative experiment, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%
PEGDA575 treat level membranes are prepared and tested with Life
Technologies CD Opti-CHO chemically-defined cell culture medium.
Again the throughput performance is observed to be improved over
the 1% HPC control membrane. However, performance continues to
decrease with increasing PEGDA treat level. This is depicted FIG.
11. In FIG. 11, capacity is measured in terms of Amin, which in
this case is defined as the minimum membrane area (in units of
m.sup.2) that is required to process 1000 Liters of media in a 4
hour period. Notably, an inverse relationship of Amin to the amount
of filtrate collected over the first 150 minutes of the experiment
is observed. Therefore, a lower Amin corresponds to higher
capacity. Due to the seemingly opposing performance trends of these
membranes with respect to the two different media streams, membrane
performance was further evaluated using multiple feedstreams. It
appears that the membrane performance results using the MX-201
medium shown in FIG. 10 improve with increasing PEGDA treat level
while the membrane performance results using the CD Opti-CHO
results shown in FIG. 11 are diminished with the same increase in
PEGDA treat level. It is noted that the MX-201 medium is more
fouling than the Opti-CHO medium. As a result, the device
performance using the MX-201 medium is less affected by the
permeability and more by the fouling by the medium. Whereas, the
Opti-CHO medium is less fouling, therefore, the device performance
is more dependent on the permeability than the effect of fouling by
the medium.
Example 7: Performance Evaluation of DACm-Free Membranes and of
DACm-PEGDA Membranes Using Multiple Feedstreams
[0158] Because of the attractive performance trends of membranes
without DACm, in yet another representative experiment, a series of
membranes modified with PEGDA alone or with DACm and PEGDA are
investigated for throughput performance. One control consists of
the hydrophobic PES virus membrane with a 1% HPC surface
modification, and the second control membrane consisted of a PES
virus membrane modified with 4% DACm and 1% PEGDA575. The second
control is made using a different hydrophobic membrane lot compared
to the other membranes in this experiment. The three remaining
membranes include a 1% PEGDA modification, a 1% PEGDA and 1% DACm
modification, and finally a 1% PEGDA575 and 4% DACm modification.
Three data sets were collected with this membrane set, one using
each of the following feedstreams: 1) Commercially available
chemically-defined CHO cell culture medium, Life Technologies CD
Opti-CHO; 2) Commercially available chemically-defined CHO cell
culture medium, EMD Cellvento 200; and, 3) Experimentally devised
feedstream, Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium spiked with 2 g/Liter
of Pluronic.
[0159] FIG. 12 depicts the comparative throughput performance
various membranes. The surface modifications include (from left to
right in the figure): control membrane modified with 1% HPC;
membrane modified with the 4% DACm and 1% PEGDA575; membrane
modified with only 1% PEGDA575; membrane modified with 1% DACm and
1% PEGDA575; and membrane modified with 4% DACm and 1% PEGDA575. It
is observed that with the CD Opti-CHO medium, which is considered a
lower fouling medium, the low DACm and no-DACm surface modified
membranes perform relatively well and very similar to the 2% PEGDA
membrane shown in FIG. 11. In the case of the higher fouling
Cellvento-200 medium, only the higher-level DACm surface
modifications perform well. This demonstrates that the higher
DACm-level surface modifications provide improved throughput
performance for the widest set of feedstreams tested.
[0160] The specification is most thoroughly understood in light of
the teachings of the references cited within the specification
which are hereby incorporated by reference. The embodiments within
the specification provide an illustration of embodiments and should
not be construed as limiting in scope. The skilled artisan
(practitioner) readily recognizes that many other embodiments are
encompassed by this disclosure. All publications and reference
materials are incorporated by reference in their entirety. To the
extent that the material incorporated by reference contradicts or
is inconsistent with the present specification, the present
specification will supercede any such material. The citation of any
references herein is not an admission that such references are
prior art.
[0161] Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing
quantities of ingredients, cell culture, treatment conditions, and
so forth used in the specification, including claims, are to be
understood as being modified in all instances by the term "about."
Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated to the contrary, the
numerical parameters are approximations and may vary depending upon
the desired properties sought to be obtained by the embodiments
disclosed herein. Unless otherwise indicated, the term "at least"
preceding a series of elements is to be understood to refer to
every element in the series. Those skilled in the art will
recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine
experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments
described herein. Such equivalents are intended to be encompassed
by the following claims.
[0162] Many modifications and variations of the embodiments
disclosed herein can be made without departing from its spirit and
scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The
specific embodiments described herein are offered by way of example
only and are not meant to be limiting in any way. It is intended
that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary
only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being
indicated by the following claims.
* * * * *