Bio-Rad Introduces Nuvia™ Q, An Ultra–High Binding Capacity Anion Exchanger For Biopharmaceutical Downstream Processing

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. announces the launch of its Nuvia™Q ultra–high capacity anion exchange media specifically designed to meet the need for robustness, high productivity, and selectivity, demanded by today’s downstream processes. The launch of Nuvia Q along with the Nuvia S cation exchanger, released in late 2010, offers process developers best-in-class ion exchangers for the capture and polish stages of biopharmaceutical purification.

“Higher titer feeds resulting from improvements in upstream bioprocessing efficiencies create a purification bottleneck, making it difficult to purify large volumes of biomolecules during downstream processing,” said Randy Jacinto, senior product manager in Bio-Rad’s Process Chromatography Division. “With downstream processing representing a significant amount of all manufacturing costs, the introduction of Nuvia Q addresses the need for robust, high-capacity process chromatography media that can consistently purify large volumes of drugs used in therapeutics.”

Designed to meet the demanding pressure-flow requirements of commercial scale bio-processes, Nuvia Q exhibits a dynamic binding capacity of greater than 170 mg/ml at a flow rate of 300 cm/hr, approximately tripling the binding capacity of first generation Sepharose Fast Flow media. By maintaining high binding capacity even at fast flow rates, Nuvia Q can significantly improve productivity, while reducing cycle time for downstream biotherapeutics purification. Moreover, due to the high binding capacity, less media is required for a given unit operation thereby reducing capital costs and space requirements.

Nuvia Q targets the purification of monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins and vaccines. This anion exchange media, when used for the intermediate polishing of monoclonal antibodies, demonstrates high selectivity in the clearance of common contaminants in the feed stream such as dsDNA and host cell proteins. In a workflow, Nuvia Q used after capture by Bio-Rad’s UNOsphere SUPrA™ or Nuvia S media cleared host cell protein by two orders of magnitude, while dsDNA levels were reduced to below detectable levels.

Key benefits of the Nuvia Q anion exchange media:

• High Binding Capacity — requires less media to bind target molecules, which reduces capital expenses, increases productivity, and minimizes buffer requirements

• Excellent Flow Properties — produces faster flow rates without compromising dynamic binding capacity, allowing scientists to operate at higher linear velocities

• Strong Selectivity — resolves closely related proteins and separates common feed stream contaminants, which produces higher-end product quality while reducing the number of purification steps required in the downstream process

• High Recovery and Base Stability — delivers consistent and reproducible purification performance with chemical and physical stability for a high number of cycles reducing overall costs


Nuvia Q is built on the robust, industry-proven UNOsphere™ base matrix with proprietary surface extender technology. Surface modifications of the UNOsphere epoxide provide significantly higher binding capacities while maintaining fast flow rates.