Sepragen Corporation

Vinit Saxena

Quirinus Ronnie Miranda

Zahid Mozaffar

Brian D Andresen

David Zuffi

Salah H Ahmed

Renu Saxena

Paul Young

Provided herein in some embodiments is a column including a housing assembly and a cartridge assembly. The housing assembly can include a housing top, a housing bottom, and a housing siding. The housing siding can be fixedly coupled to the housing top and the housing bottom forming hermetic seals therebetween. The cartridge assembly can include a cartridge top, an outer frit, and an inner frit disposed within the outer frit. A toroidal space can defined by the cartridge top, the outer frit, the inner frit, and the housing bottom. The toroidal space can be configured to hold a stationary phase for radial flow column chromatography. Also provided herein in some embodiments is a process including assembling the cartridge assembly, assembling the housing assembly about the cartridge assembly, and pressure testing the column. In some embodiments, the process can further include charging the toroidal space with a stationary phase.

Pre-packed, sealed radial flow chromatography column

A method, apparatus, and system are described to pack and unpack resin in a chromatography-column. One or more inflatable seals are deflated to pack a resin slurry from a bottom outlet valve into a resin bed chamber located between an outer shell of the column and an inner frit of the chromatography-column. The resin slurry is pumped into and through an outlet packing-and-running port and passed one or more deflated inflatable seals to pack the resin bed to a designated pressure with resin slurry. The inflatable seals are inflated to seal the resin bed in place.

Axial and radial flow columns with inflatable seals to facilitate packing and unpacking

The present invention is related to the separation of whey proteins, particularly the sequential separation of whey proteins into separate fractions through the use of chromatography. The present invention further provides methods and compositions for the sequential separation of whey proteins, as well as their use in various products. The present invention also provides methods and compositions for the cleaning of chromatography resins used in the separation of whey proteins.

Sequential separation of whey

The present invention relates to methods and materials for use in processing citrus products, and more particularly, the debittering and/or deacidifying of juices. In one preferred embodiment, the citrus juice debittered and/or deacidified by the present invention is grapefruit, while in an alternative embodiment, the citrus juice debittered and/or deacidified is orange juice. The methods allow for high flow rates which, in turn offer advantages associated with permitting high throughput of juice to be treated.

High throughput debittering

The present invention relates to methods and materials for use in processing citrus products, and more particularly, the debittering of juices. In particular, the present invention is suited to the debittering of citrus juices. In one preferred embodiment, the citrus juice debittered by the present invention is grapefruit or orange juice. The methods allow for high flow rates which, in turn offer advantages associated with permitting high throughput of juice to be treated.

A method is disclosed for the sequential separation of whey proteins using radial-flow chromatography. Different buffer systems adjusted to suitable pH and ionic strength are utilized in the separation process. The method separates at least five different proteins from whey. Infant feeding formulas, and other food formulations are also disclosed incorporating therein in different proportions various proteins separated from the whey.

Sequential separation of whey proteins and formulations thereof

An improved axial flow chromatography column for separations dependent upon bed depth, such as size exclusion and where changes of column volume necessitate bed height adjustments. The improvements include a snap-action lever or a collet arrangement which permits quick and easy movement of the bed adjuster; a flush seal assembly at the outlet frit and a V-shaped seal in the bed adjuster which obviates dead volume gap of conventional O-ring seals; lens-shaped frits convex on the inlet and outlet sides provide for uniform flow through the column, and the access ports eliminate the contamination problem by providing easy access for cleaning and aspiration of liquid; and a combined inlet tube and adjuster tube assembly eliminates the need for threaded components which make sanitation difficult.

Chromatography column

An improved liquid chromatography column having a horizontal flow of the liquid through the separating medium utilizing an improved fluid distribution system is disclosed. The improved fluid distribution system includes a screen or mesh arrangement, and a thin layer, plate or wafer-like separation medium. The screen or mesh type distribution system enables uniform distribution of the sample or eluting fluid radially over 360.degree. around the periphery of the separating medium bed, thus eliminating the high machining costs and other problems associated with systems employing grooves or passageways type distribution systems. The improved column as a whole may be fabricated so as to be disposable or may be constructed to have an even more simplified fluid distribution arrangement.

Radial thin layer chromatography

A system for chromatography using horizontal (radial) flow columns is disclosed. The system provides rapid separation of complex biological or organic mixtures at low operating pressures. The system may be used in a variety of applications, such as in the analysis of the constituents of a mixture, or in large pilot or plant scale operations where the isolation of one or more purified components of a mixture or fluid is required for further testing or for commercial purposes. The system is designed to accommodate separation via a variety of routes including ion-exchange, affinity, hydrophobic, chiral, hydroxylapatite, reverse phased as well as rapid desalting techniques.

Chromatography system using horizontal flow columns

A bioreactor for anchorage or nonanchorage dependent cells or for immobilized enzymes that is capable of achieving high cell densities or concentrations of reaction products is disclosed. The bioreactor is capable of being easily scaled up. The bioreactor utilizes horizontal or radial flow of the culture or growth medium across a packed bed of microcarriers with attached cells or enzymes. The radial flow utilized by the chamber minimizes the non-optimal culture perfusion problems and maximizes the uniformity of medium delivery and cell and/or enzyme viability. The cell culture chamber possess the capability for the production of many industrially important and useful products, particularly in the medical, pharmaceutical, food, agricultural, environmental and purification industries. In the medical and pharmaceutical industries, the large scale production of therapeutically important substances such as anti-tumor factors, hormones, viral antigens, enzymes, interferons and other valuable biomolecules, is greatly facilitated.

Packed bed bioreactor

A chromatography column/moving belt interface for directing the output of the column to a point of use, detection and/or identification, such as a mass spectrometer is disclosed. The chromatography column/moving belt interface of this invention thus provides for substantially simultaneous analysis of materials separated in the column. The chromatography column utilizes horizontal flow through the separating medium with the output therefrom being at or near atmospheric pressure. The moving belt interface includes means for directing the output of the column onto a moving belt at variable angles, means for vaporizing output which is deposited on the belt and means for providing a vacuum lock arrangement such that the belt moves from and through a near atmospheric pressure of the column output to a near vacuum condition of the mass spectrometer. The chromatography column may be of a type which has a quickly disposable or replaceable receptacle for the separating medium, such as a thin film member or wafer, or the medium itself or even the entire column may be constructed to be totally disposable or replaceable.

Chromatography column/moving belt interface

A chromatography column-electrophoresis system for directing the fluid output from the column directly to a point of use, further resolution or separation, detection and/or identification while conditioning or preparing the output for analysis by another instrument such as a mass spectrometer. The system provides for substantially simultaneous analysis in a mass spectrometer, for example, material separated initially by the column, followed by electrophoretic separation and resolution. The chromatography column utilizes horizontal or radial flow of the sample fluid through the separating medium. The column may be of a type having a quickly replaceable or disposable separating medium, or the entire column may be of a readily replaceable or disposable type. The electrophoresis apparatus is of a capillary tube type, one embodiment of which utilizes a pair of capillary tubes thereby providing for continuous operation.

Chromatography column-electrophoresis system

A chromatographic column is disclosed in which flow through the separating medium bed takes place horizontally. The column is packed with small, rigid, high performance separation medium. The fluid sample containing several components flows horizontally through the stationary phase or medium and is separated at least partially into discrete components. Means for providing even horizontal flow distribution of the sample fluid and for collection of the discrete components of the sample fluid are included. The stationary phase consists of a packed bed of high performance, small size particles of either (a) absorbants such as silica, alumina etc; (b) packing for reverse phase ion-exchange, affinity, hydrophobic, chiral or ion chromatography; (c) hydroxylapatite; or packing used for desalting. The column as a whole may be fabricated to be disposable or may be constructed to have a more simplified but durable housing.

Chromatography column using horizontal flow

A method and apparatus for performing chromatographic separations utilizing horizontal flow through the separating medium bed are disclosed. The chromatographic separations may be carried out by using an apparatus involving a cylindrical column construction wherein the horizontal flow is in a radial direction as it passes through the separating medium bed or an apparatus involving a cubical column construction wherein the flow traverses from one end of the separating medium bed to the other end horizontally. The apparatus includes means for distributing the flow, achieving horizontal streamlines and collecting separated components. In one embodiment, the separating medium bed in adjustable in height.

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Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Vinit Saxena