Optimizing AAV Filtration: Comparative Analysis of Membrane Performance and Recovery Rates

Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) have proven to be effective tools for gene therapy due to their ability to be engineered to deliver genetic material to target cells. This study investigates the performance of three different filtration membrane packs—Lepure, Cobetter, and Merck—in purifying the AAV8 serotype. We assessed the turbidity and AAV titer before and after filtration to evaluate the efficiency of each membrane. Before filtration, the AAV8 sample exhibited a turbidity of 173.6 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) and a titer of 1.01 × 1011 viral genomes per mL (vg/mL). Post-filtration, it is observed that the Lepure membrane achieved a turbidity of 6.65 NTU and an AAV titer of 4.48 × 109 vg/mL, while Cobetter resulted in a turbidity of 3.44 NTU and a titer of 3.80 × 109 vg/mL. Merck demonstrated the lowest performance with a turbidity of 0.49 NTU and an AAV titer of 9.70 × 109 vg/mL. Notably, Lepure demonstrated the highest recovery rate at 13.3%, despite its higher turbidity, indicating minimal viral adsorption. These findings highlight the importance of selecting appropriate filtration systems to optimize AAV recovery while maintaining low turbidity levels, ultimately enhancing the efficiency of AAV as a vector for therapeutic applications. Further research is recommended to refine these filtration methods to improve the purification of AAV.