A review of virus and protein sorption by ion exchange resins

Abstract This paper reviews the use of ion exchange resins for adsorbing proteins and viruses and for purifying viral suspensions. The analysis of resin performance under different conditions provides some information on the fundamental nature of virus/protein-resin interaction. A variety of systems are considered and the influence of factors such as resin type, resin pretreatment, chemical characteristics of the solution and virus type on adsorption are discussed and compared. Analogies are made between virus-host and virus-resin interactions, both of which are specific to the virus-host or virus-resin pair. Consideration is given to the use of proteins as models for virus adsorption. The use of viral parameters such as iso-electric point and the amino acid content of the protein coat for predicting virus adsorption behavior is also discussed. Anion exchange resins were found to be more effective virus sorbents than cation exchange resins. Cation exchange resins were ineffective in low ionic strength media, while anion exchange resins were most effective in low ionic strength media.