Application Note: How to Increase Recovery at Critical Protein Samples: Impact of Syringe Filter Membrane, Volume and pH

Protein loss during sample preparation can be an obstacle to reliable product quantitation in biological, biotechnological and biopharmaceutical settings.

We compared four membranes typically used as part of syringe filters for sample preparation. In a design of experiments approach we quantified the recovery of four model proteins under different sample conditions and found that membranes composed of cellulose acetate or polyethersulfone adsorbed on average less than 5% of protein analyte. Even when only 0.5 mL sample with 0.01 g L-1 protein was filtered, the recovery was ~90% with these membranes.

In contrast, nylon or polyvinylidene difluoride-based membranes exhibited adsorption of more than 30% of product under these conditions. Furthermore, adsorption was dependent on sample properties like pH which can facilitate a fine tuning of the sample conditions to improve product recovery during preparation.

Learn more by downloading our application note: How to Increase Recovery at Critical Protein Samples: Impact of Syringe Filter Membrane, Volume and pH.