Diafiltration: A Fast, Efficient Method For Desalting, Or Buffer Exchange Of Biological Samples

Diafiltration is a technique that uses ultrafiltration membranes to completely remove, replace, or lower the concentration of salts or solvents from solutions containing proteins, peptides, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules. The process selectively utilizes permeable (porous) membrane filters to separate the components of solutions and suspensions based on their molecular size. An ultrafiltration membrane  retains molecules that are larger than the pores of the membrane while smaller molecules such as salts, solvents and water, which are 100% permeable, freely pass through the membrane.

This article will cover the concepts of protein concentration and diafiltration. It will compare different ways of performing diafiltration and their impact on process time, volume, product stability, and recovery.