3.2. Scalability, reusability and stability of Con A aptamer-affinity chromatography
Application dependent scalability of the developed aptamer-affinity column was studied by monitoring its chromatographic performance over 13 mm, 20 mm and 25 mm diameter columns having a bed height of 60 mm each. Consistency in purification was observed across all three column volumes (Fig. 3A). In addition, the method was found to retain significant reusability over multi-purifications. Reusability of Con A aptamer-affinity agarose column during multi-run purification was examined on a 20 mm diameter column (bed volume of 19 mL). Buffer equilibrations, loading, washings and elution during each run of affinity purification were performed through gravitational pull. No substantial change was monitored during multi-purifications as the flow rate remained constant with mere 12.9% decrease in percent recovery in seven purification runs (Table 2).