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Adsorption behavior in the HyperCel family of cellulosic ion-exchange materials (Pall Corporation) was characterized using methods to assess, quantitatively and qualitatively, the dynamics of protein uptake as well as static adsorption as a function of ionic strength and protein concentration using several model proteins. The three exchangers studied all presented relatively high adsorptive capacities under low ionic strength conditions, comparable to commercially available resins containing polymer functionalization aimed at increasing that particular characteristic. The strong cation- and anion-exchange moieties showed higher sensitivity to increasing salt concentrations, but protein affinity on the salt-tolerant STAR AX HyperCel exchanger remained strong at ionic strengths normally used in downstream processing to elute material fully during ion-exchange chromatography. Very high uptake rates were observed in both batch kinetics experiments and time-series confocal laser scanning microscopy, suggesting low intraparticle transport resistances relative to external film resistance, even at higher bulk protein concentrations where the opposite is typically observed. Electron microscopy imaging of protein adsorbed phases provided additional insight into particle structure that could not be resolved in previous work on the bare resins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examine the structural characteristics of cellulosic ion-exchange adsorbents. [•] Inverse size exclusion was used to estimate the pore size distribution. [•] Pore space in HyperCel is comparable to that in a polymer-modified adsorbent. [•] Electron microscopy imaging was used to qualitatively assess the pore structure. [•] Functional characterization of the Donnan equilibrium showed salt exclusion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]