Bioprocess Chromatography Resins

Chromatography resins for therapeutic manufacturing

Scientists need purification solutions that maintain performance from development through cGMP manufacturing. Chromatography plays a role in achieving consistent purity, yield, viral clearance, and productivity targets as processes evolve from small-scale research to commercial production. Thermo Fisher Scientific supports this transition with chromatography solutions designed to optimize recovery, reduce impurities, and maintain throughput across diverse purification workflows.

Affinity chromatography resins

Affinity resin allows capture with high purity and yield in one step. While often used for antibodies, CaptureSelect technology also supports bispecific antibodies, fragments, Fc-fusion proteins, recombinant proteins, and viral vectors using mild elution conditions.

Ion exchange chromatography resins

Ion exchange chromatography (IEX) separates biomolecules through charge interactions with functional groups. These resins are available in both strong and weak base or acid chemistries, suitable for bind/elute or flow-through purification of antibodies, vaccines, viral vectors, and other biologics.

Anion exchange chromatography resins

Anion exchange chromatography (AEX) resins separate biomolecules based on charge, capturing negatively charged species through interactions with positively charged groups. Strong AEX resins maintain capacity across a wide pH and conductivity range for both capture and polishing.

Cation exchange chromatography resins

Cation exchange chromatography (CEX) resins separate positively charged biomolecules using negatively charged functional groups on the resin matrix. This approach is often used to purify proteins, peptides, enzymes, and other biologics during the production of therapeutic molecules. POROS CEX resins offer high capacity, chemical stability, and consistent performance from process development to commercial manufacturing.

Mixed-mode chromatography resin

Mixed-mode chromatography uses ion exchange and hydrophobic interactions within a single chemistry to improve selectivity in complex samples. POROS mixed-mode cation-exchange resin is designed for flow-through polishing and is used to reduce aggregates, host cell proteins, and other impurities while supporting high product recovery and scalability from process development through cGMP.
 

Protein A chromatography resin

Protein A (ProA) chromatography is often used for antibody purification. MabCaptureC resin offers high binding capacity, alkaline stability, and scalability, while keeping low cost of goods in mind, making it suitable for process development through cGMP manufacturing.



 

Hydrophobic interaction chromatography resins


Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) separates biomolecules by surface hydrophobicity. HIC is commonly applied as a polishing step, improving purification where charge-based methods may be limited.

 

Supporting diverse modalities and applications

ADCs

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) workflows rely on chromatography steps to separate complex conjugates and reduce impurities. These approaches support consistent production of ADCs for therapeutic research and biomanufacturing.
 

Cell Therapy

Cell therapies utilize living cells as treatments, necessitating strict control over inputs and processing steps. Chromatography is applied to prepare ancillary materials, such as cytokines or viral vectors, that are used during cell manufacturing.
 

Gene Therapy

Gene therapy often relies on viral vectors, such as adeno-associated virus (AAV) or lentivirus, to facilitate the transfer of genetic material. Chromatography separates drug product from product- and process-related impurities in both capture and polishing steps.
 

mAbs

Monoclonal antibody purification typically starts with Protein A chromatography to capture the antibody from cell culture fluid. Additional steps, such as ion exchange, are used to help reduce aggregates, variants, or process-related impurities.

mRNA

Chromatography in mRNA production separates full-length transcripts from double-stranded RNA and truncated products. The purified RNA can then be used in formulation or downstream steps, such as lipid nanoparticle assembly.

Vaccines

Chromatography is often used in vaccine manufacturing for both the capture and polishing of the vaccine drug product. The choice of method depends on the platform, for example, protein subunits, viral vectors, or nucleic acid vaccines.

Enabling purity and yield in advanced applications

Plasma fractionation

Plasma fractionation is used to separate plasma proteins, such as albumin, immunoglobulins, and clotting factors, for therapeutic applications. Chromatography steps integrated into these workflows are designed to enhance selectivity and consistency to improve the overall yield of precious plasma-derived products. Thermo Fisher Scientific supports improved productivity in plasma purification processes with affinity and polishing resins implemented at various stages.

Choose the right resins for your workflow

Selecting the appropriate chromatography resin is an important part of designing a purification process. Resin choice influences binding behavior, resolution, scalability, and overall product consistency. The decision depends on the molecule’s characteristics, such as charge, hydrophobicity, and size, as well as process requirements for purity, yield, and productivity.

 

Resin type

Primary use

Interaction principle

Key features

Affinity resin

Initial capture of target biomolecules

Specific biological interaction between the ligand and target molecule

High selectivity and yield, and single-step purification for a wide variety of biomolecules

Protein A resin

Capture of IgG monoclonal antibodies and purification

Ligand binding to the CH2-CH3 interface and VH3 regions

High binding capacity, alkaline stability, and scalable performance

IEX resins

Capture, intermediate, or polishing steps

Electrostatic interaction between charged groups and biomolecules

High capacity, tunable selectivity via pH and conductivity

AEX resins

Reduction of negatively charged impurities (e.g., DNA, endotoxin) and viral clearance

Positive functional groups attract anionic species

Strong and weak base chemistries, broad pH range, high binding capacity, resolution, and impurity clearance

CEX resins

Separation of positively charged proteins and peptides

Negative functional groups bind cationic molecules

High binding capacity and resolution, and reproducible results

HIC resins

Polishing, or reduction of aggregates or variants

Hydrophobic interactions between the resin and biomolecules

Balanced hydrophobicity, complementary to IEX, and high recovery

Mixed-mode resin

Polishing and impurity reduction in complex samples

A combination of ion exchange and hydrophobic interactions

Multi-modal selectivity, reduced number of purification steps, and scalable performance

Frequently asked questions

Chromatography resins are stationary phase matrices used in purification to bind, separate, or polish biomolecules such as proteins, antibodies, and nucleic acids. Different resin chemistries—including affinity, ion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and mixed-mode—are selected based on the properties of the molecules and the process goals.

Chromatography resins are generally classified by their mode of interaction with biomolecules. Common types include affinity resins, IEX resins, HIC resins, and mixed-mode resins.

POROS resins offer high binding capacity, mechanical strength, and rapid mass transfer, supporting efficient purification at laboratory and manufacturing scales. CaptureSelect resins offer engineered ligand specificity for improved selectivity and product yield in manufacturing complex biologics, including antibody fragments and viral vectors. These technologies facilitate consistent performance and scalable bioprocessing.

Chromatography resins are produced from agarose, silica, or polymer backbones that are functionalized with specific ligands. The particle size, porosity, and surface chemistry are precisely controlled during manufacturing to achieve consistent binding capacity, chemical stability, and flow performance across purification scales.

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers custom resin development services for projects that require specific ligand chemistries or performance characteristics. Options include custom ligand and resin design, scale-up manufacturing, and support to meet regulatory or process requirements. Learn more about custom resin development or custom POROS development.

Resins are often used with other chromatography products that refine purification or track process stability. Process buffers are fundamental to control pH and conductivity. Scientists also may require analytical chromatography systems to verify the quality of separation and ligand conjugates for further analytical development. In practice, combining these elements helps maintain consistency across purification runs.

Researchers can request free chromatography resin samples to test performance before scale-up. Samples are available through the Biotherapeutic Purification Sample Form.

Explore chromatography techniques

Chromatographic techniques—such as affinity, ion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and mixed-mode chromatography—are used at different stages of purification. Each mode applies distinct binding principles, making it important to match the technique with your target molecule and process needs.

Discover other chromatography products

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers a broad chromatography portfolio that supports purification from early research to commercial-scale manufacturing. Each product is designed to fit specific workflow needs across a range of modalities, including mAbs, therapeutic proteins, cell and gene therapies, mRNA, ADCs, and vaccines. Together, these chromatography products enable consistent performance, scalability, and flexibility in bioprocessing applications.

CaptureSelect and POROS Chromatography

CaptureSelect and POROS resins support the purification of antibodies, viral vectors, and recombinant proteins. CaptureSelect resins offer selectivity and gentle elution, while POROS resins offer speed and scalability for consistent large-scale chromatography performance.

Chromatography columns

Pre-packed chromatography columns are designed to simplify method setup and reduce preparation time. Available in multiple sizes, they support capture, intermediate, and polishing steps, enabling reliable data for process development and scale-up.

 

Membrane chromatography

Membrane chromatography enables rapid purification with low backpressure. These high-throughput formats help reduce processing time and are well-suited for biologics production, from process development through manufacturing.


96-well screening plates

The 96-well screening plate format enables rapid resin evaluation by allowing multiple purifications to run in parallel. This approach facilitates the comparison of binding and wash conditions at a small scale, supporting the development of efficient methods before larger-scale purification studies.

Find the right resins for your workflow

Selecting the right chromatography resins for your workflow depends on the molecule type, process objectives, and desired purity. Compare chemistries, binding capacities, and scalability data in one place.

Chromatography resources

Explore protocols, application notes, and troubleshooting for chromatography techniques. You’ll also find videos, webinars, and how-to articles on column packing, method development, and scale-up, plus calculators and selection tools to support process decisions.

For Research Use or Further Manufacturing. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.