Fast adsorption and separation of bovine serum albumin and lysozyme using micrometer‐sized macromesoporous silica spheres

Abstract Micrometer‐sized silica spheres with bimodal macromesoporous structures are synthesized continuously by a modified gelation technology, and a novel coaxial microfluidic device is applied to control the size of the silica spheres. These spheres are used as a new protein adsorbent to realize fast adsorption and separation of protein mixture. BSA and lysozyme (LYS) are as model proteins with different sizes and p I s. High protein adsorption capacity and rapid adsorption rate have been achieved. Fast separation of a binary mixture of BSA and LYS through a short packed column (50 mm×4.6 mm id) has also been successfully realized. LYS was selectively adsorbed while BSA flowed through the column in 12 s at a flow rate of up to 5.0 mL/min. As a result, an ultrafast adsorption and separation of BSA and LYS was obtained, showing great potential for applications in fast, large‐scale protein separation processes of these monodispersed silica spheres.