Precipitation of porcine insulin with carbon dioxide

Alexandre Keiji Tashima, Marcel Ottens, Luuk A.M. Van Der Wielen, Dennys E. Cintra, José R. Pauli, Pedro De Alcantara Pessoa Filho, Everson Alves Miranda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Recent works have pointed to the use of volatile electrolytes such as carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolved in aqueous solutions as a promising alternative to the precipitating agents conventionally used for protein recovery in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In this work we investigated experimental and theoretical aspects of the precipitation of porcine insulin, a biomolecule of pharmaceutical interest, using CO2 as an acid-precipitating agent. The solubility of porcine insulin in NaHCO3 solutions in pressurized CO2 was determined as a function of temperature and pressure, with a minimum being observed close to the protein isoelectric point. A thermodynamic model was developed and successfully utilized to correlate the experimental data. Insulin was considered a polyelectrolyte in the model and its self-association reactions were also taken into account. The biological activity of insulin was maintained after precipitation with CO 2, although some activity can be lost if foam is formed in the depressurization step.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)909-919
Number of pages11
JournalBiotechnology and Bioengineering
Volume103
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Carbon dioxide
  • Downstream
  • Insulin
  • Model
  • Precipitation
  • Solubility

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