FLEXIBLE PROCESSING APPARATUS FOR ISOLATING AND PURIFYING VIRUSES, SOLUBLE PROTEINS AND PEPTIDES FROM PLANT SOURCES

摘要

A flexible automated apparatus for isolating and purifying viruses, proteins and peptides of interest from a plant material is disclosed, the apparatus being applicable for large scale purification and isolation of such substanc es from plant material. The flexible automated apparatus provides an efficient apparatus for isolating viruses, proteins and peptides of interest with litt le waste material. The automated apparatus for isolating viruses, proteins and peptides of interest includes a grinding apparatus (22) for homogenizing a plant to produce a green juice, a means for adjusting the pH of and heating the green juice, a means for separating the target species, either virus or protein/peptide, from other components of the green juice by one or more cycles of centrifugation, resuspension, and ultrafiltration, and finally purifying virus particles by such procedure as PEG-precipitation or purifyin g proteins and peptides by such procedures as chromatography and/or salt precipitation.