Correia, Tiago R.Antunes, Bernardo PaivaCastilho, Pedro Henrique BarataNunes, JoséAmorim, Maria T. Pessoa deEscobar, IsabelQueiroz, JoãoCorreia, I.J.Morão, António2018-03-192018-03-192013-04-06Correia, T.R., Antunes, B.P., Castilho, P.H., Nunes, J.C., Amorim, M.T.P., Escobar, I. C., Queiroz, J.A., Correia, I.J. e Morão, A.M. (2013) "A bi-layer electrospun nanofiber membrane for plasmid DNA recovery from fermentation broths", Separation and Purification Technology, Vol. 112, pp. 20–25http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/4636The demanding ever-increasing quantities of highly purified biomolecules by bio-industries, has triggered the development of new, more efficient, purification techniques. The application of membrane-based technologies has become very attractive in this field, for their high throughput capability, simplicity of operation and scale-up. Herein we report the production of a bi-layer membrane by electrospinning (ES), in which a support of poly ε-caprolactone nanofibers was coated with a polyethylene oxide/sodium alginate layer, and subsequently cross-linked with calcium chloride. The membranes were characterized by SEM, ATR-FTIR, contact angle measurements, and were applied in the recovery process of a plasmid. The results show that membranes retained the suspended solids while allowing the permeation of plasmid DNA, with high recovery yields and improved RNA retention. Moreover, they also showed a very low fouling tendency. To the best of our knowledge it is the first time that ES membranes are applied in this type of bioprocess.engMicrofiltrationElectrospinningBi-layer membraneLysatePlasmid DNAjournal article10.1016/j.seppur.2013.03.049