Separation and purification of biopolymers and biopharmaceuticals using advanced chemical engineering tools

Project Information

PLASTICBIOPHARMAPUR

Grant agreement ID: 221768

Project closed

Start date 1 July 2008

End date 30 June 2010

Funded under

• Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Total cost € 178 874,06

EU contribution € 178 874,06

Coordinated by

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom

Objective

Novel advanced tools for robust, low-cost separation and purification of Biopolymers are expected to drive EU improvements in the fields of clinical analysis, proteomics and downstream purification of biopharmaceuticals. The application of plastic microcapillaries to the separation and purification of biopolymers will offer high accuracy and reliability with significant reductions in instrumentation cost over conventional systems. Platforms to be designed with multiplexed capillaries will significantly enhance productivity in the biopharmaceutical and medical fields and open up new markets for capillary instrumentation. Plastic microcapillaries will be adapted to support separations of biopolymers through affinity and ion-exchange chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Capillary walls (made of a wide range of thermoplastics) will act as the matrix for immobilisation of affinity ligands or deposition of positive/negative charges. The added values of optical transparency, stability and precise internal diameter of the plastic capillaries will be explored for the purification of biopolymers by electrophoretic methods. The project will be carried out at the University of Cambridge, where very accurate, parallel capillaries have been embedded in a plastic film extruded through a patented process. Prof. Malcolm Mackley, at the department of chemical engineering, was the co-inventor of the new extrusion process and will be in charge of supervising this project. The extrusion process is very cheap, making the plastic films disposable after a single cycle of purifications. Prof. Howard Chase will provide the necessary knowledge in bioseparations for the development of plastic, affinity and ion-exchange capillaries. Lamina Dielectrics Ltd is currently licensed for manufacturing of microcapillary films and will be an important industrial partner. Analytical techniques such as UV-Vis absorbance, laser induced fluorescence and mass spectroscopy will be used.

Fields of science

• natural sciences › biological sciences › biochemistry › biomolecules › proteins › proteomics
• social sciences › economics and business › economics › production economics › productivity
• engineering and technology › chemical engineering
• natural sciences › chemical sciences › electrochemistry › electrophoresis
• natural sciences › physical sciences › optics › spectroscopy

Keywords

• biopharmaceuticals
• biopolymers
• plastic microcapillaries
• purification
• separation

Programme(s)

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

• PEOPLE-2007-2-1.IEF - Marie Curie Action: "Intra-European Fellowships for Career Development"

Call for proposal

FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)

Coordinator

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

• EU contribution: € 178 874,06
• Address: TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS ; CB2 1TN Cambridge ; United Kingdom
• Region: East of England › East Anglia › Cambridgeshire CC
• Activity type: Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
• Administrative Contact: Dawn Barker (Ms.)
• Total cost: No data