Monolithic Chromatography
Process improvement with monolithic chromatography
We designed our convective interaction media (CIM®) monoliths as unique, single-unit structures – making them ideal for purifying very large biomolecules with a very small lab footprint. Large molecules are commonly used in modern gene therapy and vaccine products, and include virus particles, vesicles, RNA, plasmids, and other forms of DNA. These molecules require dedicated solutions for chromatographic purification.
Our CIM® monoliths are ideal for preparative and analytical applications, as well as high-throughput purification screening.
Monolithic Chromatography Solutions
- Higher resolution applications: High resolution capabilities in combination with low shear flow properties for quality yields
- Enhanced productivity: Increased throughput from improved yields and faster run times, benefitting from high capacity and ready-to-use formats
- Scalable plug-and-play format: Ready-to-use cGMP formats with proven scalability from 1 mL to 40 L
- Ideal for large molecule applications: A robust tool for the purification of biomolecules in the nanometer range
CIM® Monolithic Chromatography in 3D
Large biomolecules are becoming increasingly popular in the biotherapeutic industry. To purify these new modalities, we need innovative solutions like monolithic chromatography.
Join us on a journey through the CIM® monolith matrix to discover how convective chromatography supports the robust separation of large biomolecules.
Monolithic Chromatography Portfolio
Monoliths by Chemistry and Application
| IEX | HIC | Affinity | Mixed-Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIMmultus® QA | CIMmultus® OH | CIMmultus® Oligo-dT | CIMmultus PrimaS® |
| CIMmultus® QA HR | CIMmultus® C4-HLD | CIMmultus PrimaS® HR | |
| CIMmultus® DEAE | CIMmultus® SDVB | CIMmultus® PrimaT | |
| CIMmultus® SO3 | CIMmultus® Swiper | ||
| CIMmultus® SO4 | |||
| Select Your Product | Select Your Product | Select Your Product | Select Your Product |
Faster High-Capacity Purification
CIM® monoliths contain highly cross-linked, porous poly-methacrylate with well-defined channel size distribution. High surface accessibility of binding sites allows capacities beyond resin-based columns for large biomolecules, as well as rapid convection-based mass transfer.
With flow-independent performance, low back-pressure, and versatility, our monolithic columns enable you to purify viruses and nucleic acids faster. CIM® monoliths are available in a variety of chemistries and sizes ranging from screening to commercial processing for higher yields and improved speed.
CIM® Monoliths for IEX Chromatography
IEX Monolithic Chromatography
Benefit from all the attributes of monolithic chromatography with a range of strong and weak anion and cation exchangers designed to purify large biomolecules.
| CIMmultus® SO3 | CIMmultus® QA | CIMmultus® QA HR | CIMmultus® DEAE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel sizes | 1.3 | 2 | 6 µm | 1.3 | 2 | 6 µm | 2 µm | 1.3 | 2 | 6 µm |
| Column volume | 1 mL – 40 L | 1 mL – 40 L | 1 mL – 8 L | 1 mL – 8 L |
| Working range, pH | 2 – 13 | 2 – 13 | 2 – 13 | 2 – 9 |
| Functionality | Strong cation exchange | Strong anion exchange | Strong anion exchange | Weak anion exchange |
| Typical application | Viruses (e.g., AAV, Flu, NDV, ORF) and VLPs | Viruses (e.g., AAV, Lenti, Adeno), VLPs, and plasma proteins | AAV | pDNA, Lenti and plasma proteins |
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CIMmultus® SO3 – Strong CEX
Strong cation exchanger: Sulfonate (SO₃⁻) functional groups enable efficient ionic binding of positively charged biomolecules, including viruses (i.e., AAV, Flu, NDV, ORF, etc.) and VLPs, supporting efficient capture and purification.
Versatile application: Binds a wide range of viruses
Serotype-agnostic AAV capture step
Fast, efficient purification: Enables short processing times at any scale
High recovery and yield: Delivers strong recovery of potent capsids while minimizing shear stress
High binding capacity: Binding sites are accessible on the channel surface.
Enhanced purity: Removes process-related impurities
From early process development to manufacturing and analytics; reusable formats are available in sizes from 0.05 mL to 40 L columns
CIMmultus® QA – Strong AEX
Strong anion exchanger: Quaternary amine (QA) groups enable efficient ionic binding of negatively charged molecules, including viruses (i.e., AAV, Lenti, Adeno, etc.) and VLPs.
Versatile application: Binds a wide range of viruses
High target molecule purity and recovery: Effectively removes process- and product-related impurities, while maintaining virus integrity
High processing efficiency: Supports fast purification at high flow rates.
Laminar flow minimizes shear stress, resulting in high yields
Simple and cost-efficient operation: Ready-to-use columns enable easy scale-up, while reuse reduces overall COGS
From early process development to manufacturing and analytics; formats are available in sizes from 0.05 mL to 40 L columns
CIMmultus® QA HR – Strong AEX
CIMmultus® QA HR (high reproducibility) is a next-generation monolithic column line developed to meet the most demanding separation and purification needs. Using the same Quaternary amine (QA) ligand as standard CIMmultus® QA but with an advanced QC release test based on empty AAV capsid elution conductivity, it delivers exceptional lot-to-lot and scale-to-scale reproducibility.
Superior full AAV enrichment: Effectively enriches full AAV capsids
High reproducibility: Delivers consistent purity across all batches and scales
High-resolution empty | full separation
Exceptional capacity and full AAV capsid recovery
Robust, versatile processing: Binds all AAV serotypes and chimeras
Seamless scale-up from process development to manufacturing (formats from 0.05 mL to 8 L columns); easy to switch from linear to step-gradient elution
CIMmultus® DEAE – Weak AEX
Weak anion exchanger: Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) groups bind negatively charged biomolecules, including pDNA (6 µm channel size for pDNA larger than 8 kb) and lentiviruses (6 µm channel size).
Gentle purification: Milder ionic interactions support binding at near-neutral pH while helping preserve virus integrity.
Versatile process use: Suitable for capture, intermediate, or polishing steps in bind–elute or flow-through mode.
Fast and scalable processing: Enables efficient purification from laboratory to manufacturing scale; formats are available in sizes from 0.05 mL to 40 L columns.
Laminar flow minimizes shear stress, resulting in high yields of sensitive biomolecules
Monoliths for HIC
The Choice for Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography
Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is a must for nucleic acid separations. When combined with the advantages of monolithic chromatography, HIC meets this need while providing an excellent solution for purifying large biomolecules, such as viruses, and polishing nucleic acids (pDNA and mRNA).
| CIMmultus® OH | CIMmultus® C4-HLD | CIMmultus® SDVB | |
| Channel sizes | 1.3 | 2 | 6 µm | 2 | 6 µm | 2 µm |
| Column volume | 1 mL – 8 L | 1 mL – 8 L | 1 mL – 8 L |
| Working range, pH | 2 – 10 | 2 – 10 | 2 – 13 |
| Functionality | Weak hydrophobic | Strong hydrophobic | Strong hydrophobic, reversed phase |
| Typical application | Viruses (e.g., AAV) and VLPs, LNP | Nucleic acids (pDNA, mRNA) | Nucleic acids (mRNA) |
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CIMmultus® OH
Weak hydrophobic chemistry: a neutral (uncharged) ligand enables robust capture of various viruses, e.g., Vaccinia, bacteriophages, VLPs, EVs, LNPs, and efficient impurity removal. Large biomolecules are retained in the presence of precipitating salts or PEG at neutral pH and eluted with high resolution according to size as the salt or PEG concentration decreases.
Versatile process use: Suitable for capture, intermediate, or polishing steps in bind–elute or flow-through mode
Wide operating range: Suitable for pH 2–10 and high-flow processing with low pressure and shear stress, protecting sensitive viral particles
For large particles (i.e., LNPs), choosing 6 µm channels is recommended to lower backpressure during the process
Fast and scalable processing: Enables efficient purification from laboratory to manufacturing scale; formats are available in sizes from 0.05 mL to 8 L columns
CIMmultus® C4-HLD
Strong hydrophobic chemistry: High density of a neutral (uncharged) butyl ligands provide strong surface hydrophobicity for efficient separation of nucleic acids.
Highly effective for removing proteins from pDNA and RNA and separating pDNA isoforms (supercoiled, open circular, linear) with high resolution.
Wide operating range: Suitable for pH 2 – 10.
Fast and scalable processing: Convective mass transport enables very fast purification, with resolution independent of flow rate.
High capacity: Fully accessible channel volume provides high binding capacity for large molecules.
From early process development to manufacturing and analytics; formats are available in sizes from 0.05 mL to 8 L columns
CIMmultus® SDVB
This high performance column has a strong hydrophobic structure which enables reversed-phase purification of nucleic acids and other biomolecules.
mRNA polishing using ion-pair RP chromatography
Enables size separation and purification of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA)
Robust removal of fragments, residual plasmid template and stubborn dsRNA species
Efficient purification at room temperature
Monoliths for Affinity Purification
Highly Specific Monolithic Affinity Purification
Monolithic columns combined with unique affinity ligands offer a robust solution for affinity purification of large biomolecules.
- Channel sizes: 2 µm
- Column volume: 1 mL – 40 L
- Working range pH: 2 - 13
- Functionality: Thymine oligomer-based affinity
- Application: mRNA
CIMmultus® Oligo dT – Affinity for RNA
Oligo dT affinity chromatography: Covalently bound oligo dT (deoxythymidine) ligands (either via a C12 or C6 linker) selectively hybridize to the poly(A) tail of mRNA, enabling fast and efficient capture and purification from various sources, including IVT samples, with very high recoveries (above 95%).
Selective mRNA capture: Specifically binds polyadenylated mRNA while removing process-related impurities.
Direct processing of IVT material: Enables application of IVT material without prior buffer exchange or any other pre-processing, reducing the number of unit operations.
Ready-to-use: Simplifies process development and operation, while reuse reduces the overall costs of goods.
Fast and scalable processing: Enables efficient purification from laboratory to manufacturing scale; formats are available in sizes from 0.05 mL to 40 L columns.
- Available with:
Mixed-Mode Monolithic Columns
Unique Selectivity with Mixed Mode Monolithic Columns
The unique selectivity of mixed-mode monolithic columns ensures effective purification of the most challenging large biomolecules.
| CIMmultus ® Swiper | CIMmultus PrimaS® | CIMmultus PrimaS® HR | CIMmultus® PrimaT | CIMmultus® SO4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel sizes | 2 µm | 2 µm | 2 µm | 2 µm | 2 µm |
| Column volume | 1 mL – 8 L | 1 mL – 8 L | 1 mL – 8 L | 1 mL – 800 mL | 1 mL – 40 L |
| Working range, pH | 2 – 11 | 2 – 13 | 2 – 11 | 4.5 – 13 | 4 – 13 |
| Functionality | Multimodal: anion exchange, hydrogen bonding | Hydrogen bonding and anion exchange | Multimodal: anion exchange, hydrogen bonding | Multimodal: anion exchange, hydrogen bonding, metal affinity coordination | Strong cation exchange, hydrophobic, hydrogen bonding |
| Application | mRNA | mRNA | AAV | Viruses (e.g., AAV) and bacteriophages | Plasma proteins |
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CIMmultus ® Swiper
- Multimodal chromatography ligand that combines elements of hydrogen bonding with anion exchange chromatography
- Offers versatile RNA purification for various modalities
- Presents a valuable tool for the purification of non-polyadenylated RNA
- Ensures high recovery rates, typically above 80%
- Tailored for sensitive RNA constructs, ensuring optimal performance and integrity
- Purification conducted under mild loading conditions and neutral pH elution
CIMmultus® PrimaS
Multimodal chromatography: CIMmultus® PrimaS is a multimodal chemistry that combines weak anion exchange and hydrogen bonding properties. It is particularly well-suited for the capture and purification of large single-stranded RNA (ssRNA).
- Versatile purification of large biomolecules, i.e., RNA (ssRNA exceeding 10 kb, from crude samples such as IVT mixtures, self-amplifying RNA), viruses, and bacteriophages
- Enables fractionation of ssRNA based on molecular size
- Provides superior reduction of endotoxins
- Fully accessible channel volume provides high binding capacity (7 mg/mL) for large RNA molecules
Enables efficient purification from laboratory to manufacturing scale; formats are available from 0.05 mL to 8 L columns
CIMmultus PrimaS® HR
CIMmultus PrimaS® HR is a new generation of pre-packed chromatographic monolithic products developed to meet the most demanding separation and purification needs. HR stands for high reproducibility between batches and different scales.
- Multimodal chromatography ligand that combines elements of hydrogen bonding with weak anion exchange chromatography
- Selected to meet the need for highly reproducible purification processes (e.g., separation of full AAV capsids from empty AAV capsids)
- Column release criteria based on the AAV8 elution profile
- Multimodal properties of CIMmultus PrimaS® HR allow binding of AAV in neutral or closer to neutral pH values compared to QA-based ligands
Enables efficient purification from laboratory to manufacturing scale, formats available in sizes from 0.05 mL – 8 L columns.
CIMmultus® PrimaT
CIMmultus® PrimaT is a multimodal chromatography column designed for the purification of large biomolecules, such as AAV and bacteriophages.
- Multimodal chromatography ligand that combines elements of hydrogen bonding with weak anion exchange chromatography and metal affinity coordination
- Provides high viral vector genome recovery, robust full AAV enrichment, and efficient hcDNA and protein clearance across a range of scales
- Multimodal properties enable AAV binding at neutral or near-neutral pH values
- Supports separation of different AAV subpopulations
- Enables superior endotoxin removal
Enables efficient purification from laboratory to manufacturing scale; formats are available in sizes from 0.05 to 800 mL columns
CIMmultus® SO4
- Multimodal: Selective binding of proteins at moderate to high ionic strength (100–400 mM NaCl).
- Scalable: Proven at industrial scale (IgG) with superior FXIa removal. Strict and unified column release criteria across scales together with flow-independent performance, ensure high quality columns and consistent resolution and capacity regardless of column batch and scale.
- Gentle and rapid: Exclusively laminar flow in CIM monoliths minimizes shear, leading to improved recovery of physiologically active components (IgG, coagulation factors). Flow-independent column performance and high back-pressure tolerance enable rapid purification cycles with flow rates up to 2,400 L/h.
- High reusability: Supports cost-effective, affordable purification of IgG and coagulation factors.
Monolith Process Packs
Process packs kick-start your purification process
Process packs support the development and scale-up of large molecule purification. They come with recommended CIMmultus® columns and detailed process instructions to achieve high-quality purification in a short time.
HiP² Plasmid Process Pack is a ready-to-use, adjustable pDNA purification pack designed to help you develop your own pDNA purification process and transfer it to production.
Your process pack comes with detailed experiments to help you save time and money.
The process is extremely flexible, and you can pick and choose parts of the protocol to tailor it to your needs. CIMmultus® HiP² Plasmid Process Pack contains one weak anion-exchange (DEAE) and one hydrophobic (C4 HLD) column, and a purification protocol of your plasmid.
| HiP2 Plasmid Process Pack | |
| Column volume | 1 – 80 mL |
| Included chemistries | CIMmultus® DEAE CIMmultus® C4-HLD |
| Additional components | Detailed process instructions |
| View Products |
Chromatography Screening
Automated Precision with CIM® Octa Columns
Enhance your process development and screening workflow with efficiency and versatility tailored to your bioprocess needs. You can easily transfer methods developed on CIM® Octa columns to other monolith formats. With plug-and-play and multi-use potential, CIM Octa columns provide a robust solution for both research and industrial applications.
Condition Screening and HTP Purification with CIM® Monolithic Well Plates
We coupled CIM monolith technology with a standard multi-well plate design. Whether your goal is to screen multiple chromatographic conditions at once or high-throughput purification of your target molecule, our CIM plates offer a solution in either a 24-well or 96-well plate design.
Learn More About Monolithic Chromatography
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