Purification of human albumin by the combination of the method of Cohn with liquid chromatography

K. Tanaka, E.M. Shigueoka, E. Sawatani, G.A. Dias, F. Arashiro, T.C.X.B. Campos, H.C. Nakao

Large volumes of plasma can be fractionated by the method of Cohn at low cost. However, liquid chromatography is superior in terms of the quality of the product obtained. In order to combine the advantages of each method, we developed an integrated method for the production of human albumin and immunoglobulin G (IgG). The cryoprecipitate was first removed from plasma for the production of factor VIII and the supernatant of the cryoprecipitate was fractionated by the method of Cohn. The first precipitate, containing fractions (F)-I + II + III, was used for the production of IgG by the chromatographic method (see Tanaka K et al. (1998) Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 31: 1375-1381). The supernatant of F-I + II + III was submitted to a second precipitation and F-IV was obtained and discarded. Albumin was obtained from the supernatant of the precipitate F-IV by liquid chromatography, ion-exchange on DEAE-Sepharose FF, filtration through Sephacryl S-200 HR and introduction of heat treatment for fatty acid precipitation. Viral inactivation was performed by pasteurization at 60 degrees C for 10 h. The albumin product obtained by the proposed procedure was more than 99% pure for the 15 lots of albumin produced, with a mean yield of 25.0 +/- 0.5 g/l plasma, containing 99.0 to 99.3% monomer, 0.7 to 1.0% dimers, and no polymers. Prekallikrein activator levels were < or = 5 IU/ml. This product satisfies the requirements of the 1997 Pharmacopée Européenne.