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Chromatography in biotechnology
Bioresource Technology 48 (1994) 183-184 © 1994 Elsevier Science Limited Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved ELSEVIER
BOOK REVIEWS
Chromatography in Biotechnology. Edited by Csaba Horvath and Leslie S. Ettre. ACS Symposium Series 529 American Chemical Society, Washington, DC 1993. pp. 189 +ix. Cost $64.95
outlines concisely the major basic problems associated with attempting to obtain and purify proteins generated by recombinant DNA technology and includes an illuminating section giving the reader an insight into techniques used for optimising and improving an industrial process (e.g. in terms of process capacity, purity of product, costs etc.) aimed at purifying the intended target product. The middle section discusses methods for analysing monosaccharide components of glycoprotein and gives details of schemes for resolving glucose oxidase isoforms and for analysing microsomal cytochrome P450 patterns. Considering the final section is entitled 'Advances in Column Engineering' it comes as a surprise to find only two papers here. One of these summarizes the properties of an ideal chromatography support material required for downstream processing of proteins produced by modern bioprocess techniques and then describes the virtues of zirconium oxide-based supports in meeting many of these requirements. The second chapter in this section discusses preparative reverse-phase chromatography of proteins. It centres around the fact that separations of proteins under mass-overloaded preparative gradient-elution conditions are characterised by strong solute-solute displacements and the chapter describes experiments to examine these effects and those associated with variables such as the conditions of sample introduction to the column, gradient slope and range, sorbent pore size and particle diameter. On the whole this is an easily readable and digestible volume. It is rather slim and the coverage of topics is, apparently, limited in view of the fact that it was developed from two symposia. One must suppose that the papers chosen for inclusion are adequately representative of the major topics of interest at these meetings; recall the statement in the foreword that the topics were selective. However, the contents do ample justice to the title of the book in that the articles discuss the various chromatographic methods in relation to the industrial requirement, i.e. to large-scale, preparative purification of biotechnological products. I am certain that this tome will be of value to workers in the field and also to many in an academic environment who may be seeking, perhaps for the first time, knowledge of a m o r e production-oriented approach compared with the small-scale chromatography they have previously been familiar with.
This monograph is a development of two symposia of the American Chemical Society (ACS) held in New York, USA in August 1991. In the preface it is made clear that the contents of the book are of necessity selective, a comprehensive treatment of chromatography in biotechnology requiring a multivolume treatise. Most of the book is then devoted to preparative and process chromatography of proteins and peptides, and there is a section on glycoconjugates reflecting the importance attached to studies of complex carbohydrates in biology. Each of the papers presented in this volume has been anonymously reviewed before acceptance and alterations to manuscripts made as required, so the articles carry the authenticity of any publication in a regular scientific journal. There is a very informative first chapter that outlines the principles and problems facing chromatographers in a modern biotechnological industry, and which gives a concise summary of some of the chromatographic approaches currently in operation, thereby setting the scene for the ensuing chapters. A particularly important point that is emphasised concerns the fact that acceptance of a product for marketing by regulatory bodies means acceptance of the methods or processes used to produce that product on which clinical trials were based. This means that chromatographers have to 'get it right' before embarking on costly and time-consuming clinical trials with their purified biotechnological product, since the regulations do not allow a simple substitution of the process with an improved one at a later stage. The book then centres around three major subject headings, namely (1) Novel Operational Modes in Preparative Chromatography (2) Chromatography of Glycoconjugates and (3) Advances in Column Engineering. The first section discusses the values of selective non-adsorption preparative chromatography (SNAP), based on the non-adsorption of a target protein at its isoelectric point to an appropriate column, and various aspects of displacement chromatography. The most interesting article in this section for me was one entitled 'Process Chromatography in Production of Recombinant Products', by Walter Prouty of Lily Research Laboratories (Indianapolis). In this Dr Prouty
C. K. Pearson
183
BOOK REVIEWS
Chromatography in Biotechnology. Edited by Csaba Horvath and Leslie S. Ettre. ACS Symposium Series 529 American Chemical Society, Washington, DC 1993. pp. 189 +ix. Cost $64.95
outlines concisely the major basic problems associated with attempting to obtain and purify proteins generated by recombinant DNA technology and includes an illuminating section giving the reader an insight into techniques used for optimising and improving an industrial process (e.g. in terms of process capacity, purity of product, costs etc.) aimed at purifying the intended target product. The middle section discusses methods for analysing monosaccharide components of glycoprotein and gives details of schemes for resolving glucose oxidase isoforms and for analysing microsomal cytochrome P450 patterns. Considering the final section is entitled 'Advances in Column Engineering' it comes as a surprise to find only two papers here. One of these summarizes the properties of an ideal chromatography support material required for downstream processing of proteins produced by modern bioprocess techniques and then describes the virtues of zirconium oxide-based supports in meeting many of these requirements. The second chapter in this section discusses preparative reverse-phase chromatography of proteins. It centres around the fact that separations of proteins under mass-overloaded preparative gradient-elution conditions are characterised by strong solute-solute displacements and the chapter describes experiments to examine these effects and those associated with variables such as the conditions of sample introduction to the column, gradient slope and range, sorbent pore size and particle diameter. On the whole this is an easily readable and digestible volume. It is rather slim and the coverage of topics is, apparently, limited in view of the fact that it was developed from two symposia. One must suppose that the papers chosen for inclusion are adequately representative of the major topics of interest at these meetings; recall the statement in the foreword that the topics were selective. However, the contents do ample justice to the title of the book in that the articles discuss the various chromatographic methods in relation to the industrial requirement, i.e. to large-scale, preparative purification of biotechnological products. I am certain that this tome will be of value to workers in the field and also to many in an academic environment who may be seeking, perhaps for the first time, knowledge of a m o r e production-oriented approach compared with the small-scale chromatography they have previously been familiar with.
This monograph is a development of two symposia of the American Chemical Society (ACS) held in New York, USA in August 1991. In the preface it is made clear that the contents of the book are of necessity selective, a comprehensive treatment of chromatography in biotechnology requiring a multivolume treatise. Most of the book is then devoted to preparative and process chromatography of proteins and peptides, and there is a section on glycoconjugates reflecting the importance attached to studies of complex carbohydrates in biology. Each of the papers presented in this volume has been anonymously reviewed before acceptance and alterations to manuscripts made as required, so the articles carry the authenticity of any publication in a regular scientific journal. There is a very informative first chapter that outlines the principles and problems facing chromatographers in a modern biotechnological industry, and which gives a concise summary of some of the chromatographic approaches currently in operation, thereby setting the scene for the ensuing chapters. A particularly important point that is emphasised concerns the fact that acceptance of a product for marketing by regulatory bodies means acceptance of the methods or processes used to produce that product on which clinical trials were based. This means that chromatographers have to 'get it right' before embarking on costly and time-consuming clinical trials with their purified biotechnological product, since the regulations do not allow a simple substitution of the process with an improved one at a later stage. The book then centres around three major subject headings, namely (1) Novel Operational Modes in Preparative Chromatography (2) Chromatography of Glycoconjugates and (3) Advances in Column Engineering. The first section discusses the values of selective non-adsorption preparative chromatography (SNAP), based on the non-adsorption of a target protein at its isoelectric point to an appropriate column, and various aspects of displacement chromatography. The most interesting article in this section for me was one entitled 'Process Chromatography in Production of Recombinant Products', by Walter Prouty of Lily Research Laboratories (Indianapolis). In this Dr Prouty
C. K. Pearson
183