Scalable purification of bacteriophage preparations with alkaline phosphatase and anion-exchange chromatography (Journal of Chromatography A)

Saavedra, Silva-Santos, Duarte and Azevedo describe in Journal of Chromatography A a purification workflow for bacteriophage preparations built around anion-exchange chromatography, using phage T4 and E. coli K12 as models. Treating with alkaline phosphatase before chromatography reduces the net negative charge of endotoxins so they separate from phages; the best workflow gave 98.8% endotoxin removal (20 U/mL enzyme then a quaternary-amine column), titres up to 1.26 × 10^11 PFU/mL and recoveries up to 45.1%, and some preparations would suit intravenous use as far as endotoxin content goes.