A microfluidic device was designed to combine protein solution with nanoparticles and then form thousands of tiny, identical droplets. Inside each of these droplets, the proteins interact with the nanoparticles, which help them to form protein crystals. [Courtesy of the researchers, colorized by MIT News]
Engineers at MIT developed a new way to accomplish purification while manufacturing protein drugs, potentially reducing costs of production.The researchers say the manufacturing process represents one of the most expensive steps in manufacturing protein drugs. These kinds of drugs include antibodies or insulin. Purification involves isolating the protein from the bioreactor used to produce it.
According to an MIT website post, the step can account for up to half the total cost of manufacturing a protein. In order to reduce these costs, the MIT team developed an approach using specialized nanoparticle…