Impact of salt concentration in mobile phase on antibody retention in Protein A, Protein L and KappaSelect affinity chromatography

Protein A, Protein L and KappaSelect affinity resins have been widely used for antibody purification. Elution of antibody bound to these resins is typically achieved by acidic pH. In addition, elution can be moderately adjusted by tuning the salt concentration in mobile phase as hydrophobic interactions play a major role in binding. In this study, we assessed the impact of salt concentration in mobile phase on antibody retention in these three types of affinity chromatography. The data suggest that salt concentration has a bigger impact on retention in the two light chain-binding affinity columns (i.e., Protein L and KappaSelect) than in Protein A column. In particular, lowering salt concentration in mobile phase for Protein L and KappaSelect columns allows elution become feasible at higher pH. In addition, this finding suggests that wash in these two types of column aimed at removing weakly-bound byproducts can also be performed at increased pH by lowering salt concentration in the wash buffer. Rendering wash and elution feasible at higher pH has practical value for cases where the target antibodies are sensitive to stringent conditions.