Technology advancements in antibody purification

The separation of antibodies from complex mixtures can be achieved using chromatographic or non-chromatographic techniques. The purification of antibodies using chromatography involves the separation of antibodies or antibody-derived molecules present in complex mixtures by passing them through a solid phase (eg, silica resin or beads, monolithic columns, or cellulose membranes) and allowing the antibodies to bind or pass through depending on whether "bind-and-elute" or "flow-through" chromatographic methods are employed. Chromatographic methodologies can incorporate different separation techniques, such as affinity-tag binding, ion-exchange, size-exclusion chromatography, or immunoaffinity chromatography. However, in a concerted effort to become less reliant on chromatography-based separations owing to the high cost of large-scale production, non-chromatographic-based techniques such as precipitation, flocculation, crystallization, filtration, and aqueous two-phase partitioning are now becoming more popular. This review details current chromatographic and non-chromatographic methodologies used for the purification of antibodies and expands on technological advancements and practical uses that have recently been reported.