Back to results
US 2019/0291022 A1Published application
Chromatography system with tilt-prevention structure and associated process
AssigneeBiotechflow Ltd
InventorMartin John Hofmann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeBiotechflow Ltd
InventorMartin John Hofmann
Estimating the term…
Chromatography apparatus and methods are described, especially for expanded bed adsorption. A column tube has a process fluid input device at the bottom and a movable piston in the top. The piston is enclosed in the column by a cover plate. The piston body has an inflatable seal, and is connected by a frame to a contact ring which carries another inflatable member to contact the tube wall. Process fluid leaves the operating volume through an opening of the piston and flexible hose, through the enclosed space and out through the cover plate. The space above the piston can be pressurised to control piston movement. The contact ring maintains piston alignment. The inflatable seals are used to fix the piston in position, allow it to slide or allow washing. The piston outlet may include a vortex-inhibitor. Bed and piston levels may be monitored by ultrasound sensors.
1-21. (canceled)
A chromatography apparatus comprising:
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which said contact structure is annular and contacts continuously around the column tube interior.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which the contact structure is radially movable relative to the tilt-prevention structure;
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 comprising an outer closure of the column tube, and in which the movable piston, column tube and outer closure define a pneumatic space outside the movable piston, separated from the operating volume, and
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which the contact structure comprises an elastomeric ring.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which the engagement of the contact structure with the column tube interior is around a single annulus at a constant axial spacing from the operating seal.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which the tilt-prevention structure is an open structure comprising any of spaced rods, spaced legs and spaced struts.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which the axial distance reached by the contact structure from the axial position of the operating seal, is at least 25% of a diameter of the movable piston.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which the operating seal comprises an elastomer ring in a peripheral channel of a piston body.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 comprising a pneumatic mechanism for the radial advance or retraction of the operating seal.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 comprising sensors to detect the axial position of the movable piston in the column tube.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which the movable piston comprises a vortex-inhibiting structure at said process fluid outlet, the vortex-inhibiting structure comprising one or more dividers, partition or slot-defining elements.
A chromatography apparatus comprising:
The chromatography apparatus of claim 14 in which the movable piston has a central process fluid outlet.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 14 comprising a pneumatically-actuated mechanism to urge the contact structure radially outwardly against the inside surface of the column tube.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 14 in which the contact structure comprises a polymeric ring to contact the inside surface of the column tube.
An expanded bed chromatography apparatus comprising:
The chromatography apparatus of claim 18 in which a sealed connector is provided extending through the column tube or through said outer end closure, and a flexible conduit is connected at one end to the process fluid outlet and at the other end to the sealed connector.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 18 in which the operating seal comprises an elastomer ring and the apparatus comprises a pneumatic mechanism operable to advance or retract the operating seal radially relative to the piston, so as either to urge the operating seal outwardly against the inside of the column tube or to retract it to a radially retracted condition.
The chromatography apparatus of claim 1 in which the piston body has an inner face, directed onto the operating volume, which is convergent towards an entrance of the process fluid outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.