Single-Pass VMF of mAbs

Single-Pass, Continuous Concentration of mAbs Using Vibro^® Membrane Filtration

Single-Pass VMF outperforms conventional Single-Pass TFF in the concentration of mAbs, with minimal fouling, high concentration and conversion efficiency and gentle, stable operation. Its innovative anti-fouling mechanism enables true single-pass concentration in a single step – a breakthrough in continuous bioprocessing.

Reduced DSP Cost With Single-Pass Concentration

DSP remains a major cost driver in mAb production, accounting for up to 90% of total costs, with Protein A chromatography among the most expensive steps. By pre-concentrating the dilute harvest pool before Protein A capture, productivity and loading capacity increase while buffer consumption drops significantly. This study demonstrates that single-pass VMF can effectively be used for inline protein concentration, offering a smart, streamlined DSP strategy that cuts costs and simplifies operation.

Significant Performance Boost Compared to Conventional TFF

One challenge in conventional SPTFF is that flux needs to be kept low to avoid fouling, yet high flux is required to achieve target concentrations. However, VMF utilizes vibrations to mitigate fouling, enabling it to handle much higher flux rates. Accordingly, single-pass VMF significantly outperformed single-pass TFF in flux stepping experiments, achieving much higher conversion rates as well as 6-8 times higher concentration factors at approx. 60% higher flux. 

VMF demonstrated:

• 10 g/L feed: Up to 20x concentration with 16.3 LMH at a conversion rate of 95%
• 20 g/L feed: Up to 10x concentration with  15.4 LMH at a conversion rate of 90%
• Stable and low TMP at high flux

Stable, Long-Term Process Technology

Extended continuous runs (> 8 h) confirmed VMF’s robustness and high efficiency:

• 10 g/L feed: 8.3x concentration at 88% conversion 
• 20 g/L feed: 5x concentration at 80% conversion
• Gentle processing: No aggregation or fragmentation detected by dynamic light scattering

DSP Intensification Through True Single-Pass, Single-Step Processing

Even optimized conventional TFF setups often require multiple devices in series to reach target concentration.
In contrast, this study demonstrates VMF’s suitability for true single-pass, single-step processing – reaching target concentration over a single device.
By eliminating the need for multi-stage configurations, VMF paves the way for DSP intensification.