Improved mRNA affinity chromatography binding capacity and throughput using an oligo-dT immobilized electrospun polymer nanofiber adsorbent

Increased demand for mRNA-based therapeutics and improved in vitro transcription (IVT) yields have challenged the mRNA purification platform. Hybridization-affinity chromatography with an immobilized oligo-deoxythymidilic acid (oligodT) ligand is often used to capture mRNA through base pairing with the polyadenylated tail. Commercially available oligodT matrices include perfusive cross-linked poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) 50 µm POROS® chromatography resin beads and convective polymethacrylate CIMmultus ™ monolithic columns consisting of 2 µm interconnected channels. POROS® columns may be limited by poor mass transfer for larger mRNAs and slow flowrates, while monoliths can operate at higher flowrates but are limited by modest binding capacity. To enable both high flowrates and binding capacity for mRNA of all lengths, prototype chromatography media was developed by Cytiva using oligodT immobilized electrospun cellulose nanofibers (Fibro™) with a 0.2-0.4 µm pore size. In this work, four polyadenylated mRNAs ranging from ∼1900-4300 nucleotides were used to compare the dynamic binding capacity (DBC) of Fibro™, POROS® and CIMmultus™ columns as a function of residence time and binding buffer compositions. Fibro™ improved the DBC ∼2-4-fold higher than CIMmultus™ and ∼2-13-fold higher than POROS® across all residence times, mRNA length, and binding matrix compositions tested. CIMmultus™ DBC was least dependent on residence time and mRNA size, while both Fibro™ and POROS® DBC increased at slower flowrates and with shorter mRNA. Surprisingly, inverse size exclusion (ISE) experiments showed that POROS® was not limited by diffusion and POROS® along with CIMmultus™ demonstrate higher mRNA permeation however the Fibro™ prototype is not in the final configuration. Lastly, IVT reaction products were subjected to purification and oligodT elution product yield, quality, and purity were consistent across the three matrices investigated. These results highlight the benefits of high DBC and equivalent product profiles offered by the oligodT Fibro™ prototype compared to commercially available oligodT media.