Inline Protein Concentration by Vibratory Single Pass Tangential Flow Filtration

Single Pass Tangential Flow Filtration (SPTFF) is increasingly used for inline concentration and final formulation in intensified/continuous processes for monoclonal antibody products. However, these modules typically operate at low feed flux, requiring significant membrane area and often complex internal staging to achieve the desired concentration factor. In this study, a vibration-assisted SPTFF system was used for inline concentration of soluble protein. The maximum sustainable flux and concentration factor were evaluated under vibratory and non-vibratory conditions using flux-stepping experiments. SPTFF performed under vibration was able to achieve single pass concentration factors of 20× at a feed flux of 17.2 L/m²/h, while the non-vibratory system showed rapid fouling at much lower concentration factors. Furthermore, the vibratory module achieved a 6-fold higher concentration factor compared to a screened channel cassette. Long-term filtration experiments demonstrated that the vibratory system could concentrate a 20 g/L protein solution to 100 g/L using a single cassette with stable operation for more than 8 h without protein aggregation. This work highlights the potential opportunity to develop vibratory SPTFF systems for intensified bioprocessing.