How to Choose Hollow fiber or Flat Cassettes in Tangential Flow Filtration Technology

How to Choose Hollow fiber or Flat Cassettes in Tangential Flow Filtration Technology

 

Introduction

Tangential flow filtration (TFF) technology is a powerful method for liquid separation and concentration, widely used in various industries. When implementing a TFF system, one critical decision is selecting the appropriate configuration: hollow fiber or flat cassettes.

 

Hollow Fiber

Hollow fiber, a groundbreaking filtration technology, has revolutionized separation and purification processes across various industries. Hollow fiber features a robust membrane produced entirely in-house. With its gentle processing of shear-sensitive molecules during separation and its ability to handle high biomass and cell densities, hollow fiber enhances recovery and efficiency significantly.

Advantages

(1)Open flow channel, high dust holding capacity

(2)Good membrane uniformity, complete range of pore sizes

(3)Flexible and modular for easy linear scaling

(4)Low shear force, especially suitable for sensitive protein products and virus processing

(5)Compatible with mainstream R&D industrial hollow fiber TFF systems

Flat Cassettes

Flat cassettes are cutting-edge filtration devices designed to provide precise and efficient separation of particles and microorganisms from liquids. Flat cassettes employ advanced membrane technology, making them ideal for a wide range of applications in industries such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and water treatment.

Features

(1)Quick and easy installation

(2)Thorough and convenient cleaning

(3)Low working volume

(4)High efficiency retention and large flux

 

Hollow Fiber and Flat Cassettes

Compared to hollow fiber, the microfiltration membrane of flat cassettes has significant limitations in clarifying and filtering samples with high solid content and high viscosity, as they are prone to channel clogging. Their mesh channel structure is more suitable for the concentration of low-viscosity and low-concentration samples without solid particles, such as buffer exchange and concentration between chromatographic columns.

Application	Hollow fiber	Flat cassettes
E. coli collection	√	×
Yeast clarification	√	×
Clarification after E. coli mean	√	√
Yeast fermentation broth clarification	√	√
The ultrafiltration concentration of the recombinant proteins	√	√
Perfusion culture	√	×
Ultrafiltration of viral vector mRNA	√ (Subunits, LNP particles, multimeric proteins or particles)	√ (More suitable for small particle size)
Large intestine renaturing solution clarification	√ (priority)	√

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, choosing between hollow fiber and flat cassettes in tangential flow filtration technology requires careful consideration of several factors, including membrane material, pore size, filtration area, flow rates, types of solution and so on. Hollow fiber and flat cassettes have respective advantages and selecting the most suitable option will optimize the TFF system’s performance and efficiency for the desired liquid separation and concentration goals.