Molecule families
Proteins & Enzymes
5 molecules
Large polypeptides (5-500 kDa) including antibodies, recombinant therapeutics, industrial enzymes, and dairy proteins. Purified using affinity chromatography, ion exchange, ultrafiltration, and precipitation.
Organic Acids
5 molecules
Carboxylic acids from microbial fermentation (60-200 Da). Purified using reactive extraction, ion exchange, electrodialysis, and crystallization. pH-dependent dissociation drives technique selection.
Amino Acids
3 molecules
Zwitterionic building blocks (75-200 Da) from fermentation. Purified using ion exchange at the isoelectric point, crystallization, and activated carbon decolorization.
Sugars & Polysaccharides
2 molecules
Carbohydrates from hydrolysis and fermentation (180 Da - 1 MDa). Purified using nanofiltration, ion exchange demineralization, activated carbon, and crystallization.
Alcohols & Solvents
2 molecules
Volatile fermentation products (46-90 Da). Purified primarily by distillation with molecular sieve dehydration for azeotrope breaking.
Antibiotics
2 molecules
Bioactive secondary metabolites from fermentation (300-1500 Da). Purified using solvent extraction, reverse-phase chromatography, and crystallization.
Salts & Buffers
2 molecules
Inorganic ionic compounds used as eluents, precipitants, and buffers. Removed by diafiltration, nanofiltration, ion exchange, and crystallization.
Lipids & Terpenes
1 molecules
Hydrophobic compounds including carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, and essential oils. Purified using supercritical CO2 extraction, molecular distillation, and silica chromatography.
Polysaccharides & Biopolymers
1 molecules
High-MW polymers (50 kDa - 5 MDa) for cosmetics, pharma, and food. Purified by ultrafiltration, precipitation, and ion exchange.
Separation families
Membrane Filtration
5 techniques
Pressure-driven separation by molecular size using membranes with defined cutoffs: microfiltration (0.1-10 um), ultrafiltration (1-100 kDa), nanofiltration (200-1000 Da). Workhorse of biotech downstream processing.
Chromatography
6 techniques
Column-based separation by selective binding. Affinity (biospecific), ion exchange (charge), reverse phase (hydrophobic), size exclusion (size). Highest selectivity at highest cost per gram.
Centrifugal Separation
1 techniques
Density-driven solid-liquid and liquid-liquid separation. Disc-stack and tubular centrifuges for cell harvest, clarification, and oil-water separation at scale.
Phase-Change Separation
4 techniques
Separation by inducing a phase boundary: crystallization (solid from solution), evaporation and spray drying (vapor from liquid), precipitation (solubility shift). Bulk recovery economics.
Solvent Extraction
2 techniques
Partition-based separation between immiscible phases. Liquid-liquid extraction for organic acids and antibiotics; supercritical CO2 for lipids, carotenoids, and essential oils.
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