Large-scale Recovery of Recombinant Protein Inclusion Bodies Expressed in Escherichia coli

The production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli often leads to the formation of an intracellular inclusion body. Key process steps that can determine the economics of large-scale protein production from inclusion bodies are fermentation, inclusion body recovery, and protein refolding. Compared with protein refolding and fermentation, inclusion body recovery has received scant research attention. Nevertheless, it can control the final product yield and hence process cost for some products. Optimal separation of inclusion bodies and cell debris can also aid subsequent operations by removing contaminant particulates that foul chromatographic resins and contain antigenic pyrogens. In this review, the properties of inclusion bodies and cellular debris are therefore examined. Attempts to optimise the centrifugal separation of inclusion bodies and debris are also discussed.