Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have developed a simpler process for messenger RNA (mRNA) purification based on continuous precipitation. According to Maria del Carme Pons Royo, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT, the process, already used at lab scale, could help make large-scale mRNA manufacturing more flexible and cost-efficient.
“Downstream processing for mRNA manufacturing is currently too complex, but simplifying by using precipitation, for example, could help a lot,” she says.
The new process aims to precipitate out mRNA while keeping impurities in solution. It uses two tangential flow filters (TFF), one to remove impurities and a second to take out the precipitating agents and exchange the buffer solution. The combination of salts and polyethylene glycol in the buffer helps to separate out the large mRNA molecules from the small impurities, she explains.
The process can be made continuous and performed in a table-sized footprint, notes Pons Royo, adding that “You don’t need that much space, and you don’t need to do any pre-treatment.”
Pre-treatment often requires large liquid volumes that create a large footprint in a commercial-scale manufacturing facility. Pre-treatment can also include heating, for example, to prepare the mRNA to pass through filters and bind to chromatography resin. These steps can make the process expensive, points out Pons Royo.
In contrast, the new technique can produce yields of 90% and 97% purity, she says, without fragmentation or degradation of the mRNA, or impurities such as double-stranded RNA.
The new research is among the first to examine precipitation as a purification method technique for mRNA at larger than the laboratory scale, explains Pons Royo.
“There are companies that sell precipitation kits to purify your mRNA,” she says. “But no one has really used it for large-scale purification before.”
The team is now working to improve the technique by recovering enzymes, nucleotides, and other impurities that could be used, rather than simply being thrown away.
The post A Simpler Process for mRNA Purification appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.
“Downstream processing for mRNA manufacturing is currently too complex, but simplifying by using precipitation, for example, could help a lot,” she says.
The new process aims to precipitate out mRNA while keeping impurities in solution. It uses two tangential flow filters (TFF), one to remove impurities and a second to take out the precipitating agents and exchange the buffer solution. The combination of salts and polyethylene glycol in the buffer helps to separate out the large mRNA molecules from the small impurities, she explains.
Making the process continuous
The process can be made continuous and performed in a table-sized footprint, notes Pons Royo, adding that “You don’t need that much space, and you don’t need to do any pre-treatment.”
Pre-treatment often requires large liquid volumes that create a large footprint in a commercial-scale manufacturing facility. Pre-treatment can also include heating, for example, to prepare the mRNA to pass through filters and bind to chromatography resin. These steps can make the process expensive, points out Pons Royo.
In contrast, the new technique can produce yields of 90% and 97% purity, she says, without fragmentation or degradation of the mRNA, or impurities such as double-stranded RNA.
The new research is among the first to examine precipitation as a purification method technique for mRNA at larger than the laboratory scale, explains Pons Royo.
“There are companies that sell precipitation kits to purify your mRNA,” she says. “But no one has really used it for large-scale purification before.”
The team is now working to improve the technique by recovering enzymes, nucleotides, and other impurities that could be used, rather than simply being thrown away.
The post A Simpler Process for mRNA Purification appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.