Deliberate manipulation of the surface hydrophobicity of an adsorbent for an efficient purification of a giant molecule with multiple subunits

Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is often an inevitable step for a satisfying purification in giant vaccine molecules production. But great mass and activity loss associated with poor purity often occur simultaneously. In this paper, high purity and high bioactivity recovery for the HIC process of hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg) purification were achieved through manipulation of surface hydrophobicity of the adsorbent. Spacer arm length and ligand density were regulated, respectively, through which the interaction between the vaccine and the adsorbent was manipulated deliberately. It was found even in a narrow scope, varying spacer arm length and ligand density resulted in purification factor changing from 1 to 96.5, and rHBsAg recovery from 3 to 91%. The optimal purification performance was achieved when the spacer arm was C8 and the ligand density was 9.2 μmol/g suction-dried wet gel with an average distance of ligands of 3.6 nm. This deliberate regulation strategy represents a new approach of improving purification of giant multi-subunit proteins.