Enhancement and Regulation of Peptide Crystallization with the Application of Taylor Vortex: A Case Study of Vancomycin

It is critical to develop efficient peptide drug crystallization processes to manufacture crystalline products with high yield, uniform particle size distribution, and regular crystallization habits in downstream biomanufacturing to fulfill the rapid expansion of the peptide drug market. The focus of this work was to investigate the influence of Taylor vortex with counter-rotating toroidal vortices and impinging jet region on the crystallization of peptide vancomycin. With the same solution concentration and operation conditions, the vancomycin crystalline products obtained in the Couette–Taylor (CT) crystallizer had an octahedral morphology, a narrower particle size distribution, and a higher yield than the crystalline products obtained in the mixing-tank crystallizer and static conditions. Thermodynamics (concentration and temperature) and kinetics (shear rate and gap width) of crystallization in the CT crystallizer were identified to provide useful information for the crystallization of peptides and other biomacromolecule drugs in the future.