Open Access

Lars Wommer, Patrick Meiers, Isabelle Kockler, Roland Ulber, Percy Kampeis

• Laboratory protocols using magnetic beads have gained importance in the purification of mRNA for vaccines. Here, the produced mRNA hybridizes specifically to oligo(dT)-functionalized magnetic beads after cell lysis. The mRNA-loaded magnetic beads can be selectively separated using a magnet. Subsequently, impurities are removed by washing steps and the mRNA is eluted. Magnetic separation is utilized in each step, using different buffers such as the lysis/binding buffer. To reduce the time required for purification of larger amounts of mRNA vaccine for clinical trials, high-gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) is suitable. Thereby, magnetic beads are selectively retained in a flow-through separation chamber. To meet the requirements of biopharmaceutical production, a disposable HGMS separation chamber with a certified material (United States Pharmacopeia Class VI) was developed which can be manufactured using 3D printing. Due to the special design, the filter matrix itself is not in contact with the product. The separation chamber was tested with suspensions of oligo(dT)-functionalized Dynabeads MyOne loaded with synthetic mRNA. At a concentration of cB = 1.6–2.1 g·L–1 in lysis/binding buffer, these 1 μm magnetic particles are retained to more than 99.39% at volumetric flows of up to 150 mL·min–1 with the developed SU-HGMS separation chamber. When using the separation chamber with volumetric flow rates below 50 mL·min–1, the retained particle mass is even more than 99.99%.