Illustrating bioseparations with colorful proteins

Advances in biology are prompting new discoveries in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical technology, and chemical industries. Developing commercial-scale processes based on these advances requires that new chemical engineers clearly understand the biochemical principles behind the technology, in addition to developing a firm grasp of chemical engineering principles. ¹ This paper outlines the development of educational materials in biochromatography, one of the major techniques used to separate and purify biological molecules. This project aims to determine operating conditions for displaying the separation of colorful proteins in a variety of course settings. Anion exchange chromatography demonstrations have been developed, showing that a mixture of flavodoxin (orange color) and green fluorescent protein (green color) can be selectively eluted at different salt concentrations, providing a powerful demonstration of the principles of protein binding and elution. These concepts have been expanded to full-scale experiments suitable for unit operations laboratories or upper-level biochemical engineering electives. This paper describes how these visually-appealing demonstrations and lab exercises centered on bioseparations can be incorporated into lecture and lab-based chemical engineering courses.