SARTORIUS Vivaflow 50R Ultrafiltration Premium Hydrosart Membrane Owner’s Manual

: September 9, 2024
: SARTORIUS

Table of Contents

SARTORIUS Vivaflow 50R Ultrafiltration Premium Hydrosart Membrane
Product Usage Instructions
FAQ
Product Information
Features
Applications
Operating Principle
Technical Specifications
Materials
Equipment Requirements
Sterilization
Operating Conditions
System Setup
Typical Performance
Ordering Information
Contact
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

SARTORIUS Vivaflow 50R Ultrafiltration Premium Hydrosart Membrane

Specifications

Approximate weight: 130 g
Membrane area: 10 mL
Minimum retentate volume: 50X
Materials:
- Fittings: Polyamide (PA), Polypropylene (PP)
- Gasket: Silicone (SIL)
- Housing: Polycarbonate (PC)
- Membrane: Polyethylene (HDPE)
- Membrane support: Polyamide (PA), Polyoxymethylene (POM), Polypropylene (PP), Silicone (SIL), Stainless steel (SS)
- Pressure indicator: Polyamide (PA), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyoxymethylene (POM), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Silicone (SIL)
- Materials for other components: Aluminium (ALU), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Cardboard (PAP), Polyethylene (LDPE)

Product Usage Instructions

Equipment Requirements

You will need a peristaltic pump with a pump head suitable for 1.6 mm wall thickness tubing, sterilization can be done by flushing the cassettes with 70% ethanol, and reservoirs or vessels for feed distribution and permeate collection. A cassette stand is available as an optional accessory for a tidy setup.

Operating Conditions

The maximum retentate pressure is 2.5 bar, and the maximum run time is 6 hours. Ensure proper flow rate and temperature control during operation.

System Setup

To perform diafiltration, add a second feed vessel containing 5X diafiltration volumes of exchange buffer and connect the setup with the provided tubing.

FAQ

Q: Can thermal sterilization be used on the cassettes?
- A: Thermal sterilization is not recommended. The cassettes may be sanitized by flushing with 70% ethanol.
Q: What accessories are recommended for running two cassettes in series?
- A: A cassette stand (order number VFA016) is especially recommended for running two cassettes in a series.
Q: How should I ensure even wear if a longer run time is necessary?
- A: Reposition the feed tubing in the pump head to ensure even wear if a longer run time is necessary.

Product Information

Vivaflow® SU is a next-generation plug-and-play tangential flow filtration (TFF) cassette, for ultrafiltration and diafiltration of intermediate sample volumes. It has been specifically designed for ease of use in research and development laboratories. For feed samples of 100 mL and more, concentration and buffer exchange using centrifugal ultrafilters is cumbersome, labor- intensive, and time-consuming, leading to a decrease in productivity. However, TFF based on scale-down process technology is expensive, complicated and requires additional effort in process optimization. Re-designed from the ground up, Vivaflow® SU features a new housing and flow path design, and offers an increased range of membrane materials and MWCOs. Compared to the previous generation cassettes, this results in enhanced ease of use and improved ultrafiltration and diafiltration performance for virtually any biomolecule. In addition, single-use plastic waste has been substantially reduced, packaging recyclability has been improved, and tubing kits have been reconfigured. Together, these help to reduce the environmental impact of your research

Features

True Plug and Play
- Link the cassettes quickly and securely to a suitable pump and reservoirs, right out of the box.
No Added Costs
- The all-in-one design avoids the need for expensive cassette holders and TFF systems.
Performance Optimized
- Advanced flow path and fixed occlusion restrictor eliminate the effort that is usually needed for TFF.
Process Any Molecule
- High-performance PES or Hydrosart® RC membranes ensure maximum recoveries.
Maintain Sample Integrity
- Improve safety for you and your sample with no need for flushing or cleaning.
Less Single-Use Waste
- Cassettes contain 30 – 60% less plastic¹ and are supplied with only the tubing you need.

Applications

Ultrafiltration

Cell culture and process fluid clarification
Protein, nucleic acid and virus concentration
Nanoparticle separation and enrichment
Fresh- and waste-water concentration
Sample volume reduction

Diafiltration

Protein solubilization and refolding
Chromatography sample preparation
Polishing and contaminant removal
Therapeutic formulation development
Protein-ligand binding studies

Operating Principle

A sample (feed) is pumped through the cassette and flows parallel to the membrane surface. This allows continuous removal of solvent and low molecular weight contaminants (permeate), while creating shear stresses at the membrane surface that prevent fouling, polarization, and blocking. When the sample is recirculated between the cassette and feed reservoir, it is progressively concentrated (retentate).

Technical Specifications

Materials

Equipment Requirements

Peristaltic Pump
With a pump head for 1.6 mm wall thickness tubing.
Reservoirs | Vessels
For feed distribution⁴ and permeate collection
Cassette Stand
Available as an optional accessory⁵, for a tidy set up.

Sterilization

Thermal sterilization is not recommended. The cassettes may be sanitized by flushing with 70% ethanol

Operating Conditions

A sample reservoir (order number VFA006) is required for feed distribution during continuous diafiltration.
A cassette stand (order number VFA016) is especially recommended when running two cassettes in series.
If a longer run time is necessary, reposition the feed tubing in the pump head to ensure even wear.

System Setup

Ultrafiltration

The unique flow path and fixed occlusion restrictor in Vivaflow® SU ensure optimal crossflow velocity and transmembrane pressure (TMP) without applying excessive shear stress to the sample. This substantially reduces user effort by eliminating the need to calculate and optimize feed flow rate, TMP and permeate flux. It also ensures high product recovery due to gentle filtration conditions compared to centrifugal ultrafiltration. Furthermore, as the process is pump driven, it can be stopped as soon as the desired retentate or permeate volume has been reached by simply stopping the pump flow.

Figure 1: Vivaflow® SU cassettes are ready to use for ultrafiltration by simply connecting them to a suitable pump, feed reservoir and permeate collection vessel.

Diafiltration

The Vivaflow® feed reservoir (order number VFA006) makes both ultrafiltration and diafiltration exceptionally convenient. First, a sample is concentrated to the desired final volume. Then, a length of tubing (order number VF-ATD0001-1) is placed into a separate vessel containing the exchange buffer and linked to the feed reservoir. Airtight sealing enables continuous diafiltration — as the original buffer continues to permeate the ultrafiltration membrane, it is replaced with an equivalent volume of exchange buffer. This is an efficient method of buffer exchange that reduces reagent and water consumption and avoids sample dilution.

Figure 2: To perform diafiltration, all that is required is to add a second feed vessel containing 5X diafiltration volumes of exchange buffer and a length of tubing, orange, to the ultrafiltration setup.

Scale Up

The modular design of Vivaflow® SU allows up to two cassettes to be run in series. This supports increased throughput for feed volumes up to 1 L, or increased processing speed for smaller samples. To run two cassettes in series, select the membrane material and molecular weight cut-off that best suits your sample and order the cassettes that are supplied with a serial tubing kit (order numbers ending in -SV).

Figure 3: The time to produce a given permeate volume is halved when running two cassettes in series (as shown in the inset), teal, compared to running one cassette, grey (process conditions: lysozyme concentrated using 5 kDa PES at 2.5 bar retentate pressure, at 20 °C (n = 3)).

Typical Performance

Typical permeate flow and retention rates for biomolecules concentrated up to 10X. Process conditions: Samples were concentrated at operating pressures up to 2.5 – 3 bar on the retentate, at 20 °C. Permeate volumes were measured periodically throughout each run, and retention rates were determined after flushing the cassettes with 10 mL sample buffer at the end of each run (n = 26 for 30 kDa RC, n = 3 for all other membranes).

Ordering Information

Package Contents for Cassettes, Equipment and Accessories

Figure 4: Vivaflow® SU package contents for running each cassette individually, as recommended for feed volumes from 100 to 500 mL, left, or both cassettes in series, as recommended for feed volumes from 500 to 1,000 mL, right.

Includes 2x feed tubing, 2x permeate tubing, 2x pressure indicator, and 2x retentate tubing with restrictor, for running each cassette individually, or 1x feed tubing, 1x serial connector, 2x permeate tubing,
1x pressure indicator, and 1x retentate tubing with restrictor, for running both cassettes in series.