Abstract
After the COVID-19 pandemic, several companies and organisations are
actively developing, scaling up and optimising mRNA manufacturing
processes to produce their vaccines and therapeutics. Herein, we
evaluated tangential flow filtration (TFF) for high-recovery, and
high-purity separation of mRNA from unreacted NTPs in the IVT reaction
mixture. For the first time, the membrane fouling behaviour caused by
mRNA and separation of nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) was
mathematically modelled. The mRNA membrane fouling model is necessary
for optimising mRNA separation processes, designing a suitable strategy
for membrane clean-up, estimating the end of production life and
reducing the process cost. Recovery greater than 70% mRNA without
degradation was obtained by implementing a capacity load of
~19 g/m2, <2.5 psi transmembrane pressure (TMP)
and feed flux of 300 LMH. This approach enables the purification of
multiple RNA drug substance sequences for the prevention and treatment
of a wide range of diseases.