Millipore Express® Sterilizing-Grade Membrane Filters Selection Guide
Sterilizing-grade membrane filters are used in pharma and biopharma manufacturing to eliminate bacterial contaminants and ensure product safety and integrity. Millipore Express® sterilizing-grade filters offer multiple options for efficient processing of a range of fluid streams. This technical article explores these options and provides an overview to help you select the right filter and develop an efficient, sustainable sterile filtration step at any scale.
For specific information on any filter, please check the product specifications in the Millipore Express® Family Guide.
Millipore Express® capsule and cartridge filters.
Section Overview
Millipore Express® Membrane Filters and Filter Formats
All Millipore Express® filters for liquid filtration contain sterilizing-grade hydrophilic polyethersulfone (PES) membranes. These membrane filters provide extremely broad chemical compatibility across a wide pH range, are easy to wet and integrity test, and are available in a range of formats and sizes to meet the specific needs of different operations.
All Millipore Express® filters for liquid filtration can be used in a wide range of applications, including cell culture media filtration, buffer filtration, and filtration or process intermediates in monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), vaccine, mRNA, plasma, viral vector, and large and small volume parenteral production, and for critical final sterile filtration steps.
- Millipore Express® Sterile High Retention (SHR) filters: contain a 0.1 µm PES mycoplasma retentive membrane. Millipore Express® SHR with Prefilter (SHRP) filters contain an integrated 0.5 µm PES prefilter that increases filter capacity.
- Millipore Express® Ace 0.2 µm Filters: contain an innovative single layer membrane that maximizes membrane area for superior capacity and flux. Enhanced surface chemistry minimizes protein binding to levels comparable with Durapore® 0.22 µm filters.
- Millipore Express® Sterile High Capacity (SHC) filters: contain a 0.2 µm PES sterilizing-grade membrane protected by an integrated 0.5 µm PES prefilter. These filters offer high filter capacity for complex or plugging streams.
- Millipore Express® Sterile High Flux (SHF) filters: contain a single layer of 0.2 µm PES sterilizing-grade membrane for efficient, high flux filtration of non-plugging liquids.
- Millipore Express® Process Protection High Flux (PHF) filters: contain a single layer of 0.2 µm PES sterilizing-grade membrane and are a cost-effective option for high throughput, high flux filtration in non-critical operations.
For help selecting a filtration device or format:
Multiple filter formats provide flexibility for drug manufacturers from process development through large-scale manufacturing. All Millipore Express® filters are offered as capsules for single-use processing and cartridge formats for multi-use stainless-steel operations, with multiple sizes, connection options, and options for sterilization.
To explore different filter formats, read our Technical Article. For information on how small scaling tools can be used to predict area ratios for larger filters, read our Application Note.
The table below summarizes the filter formats and sizes available.
Millipore Express® SHR Filters
Filters containing Millipore Express® SHR membrane provide sterilizing-grade performance and mycoplasma removal from cell culture media, media additives and other biological solutions.
These filters typically demonstrate log reduction value (LRV) >7 with Acholeplasma laidawii. The 0.1 μm PES, mycoplasma retentive membrane provides sterility assurance, broad chemical compatibility, and high flow rates. Read our Tech Note for more information.
Millipore Express® SHRP filters contain an integrated PES 0.5 μm membrane prefilter that protects the 0.1 μm membrane from premature plugging and extends filtration capacity in fouling streams. Millipore Express® SHRP filters are available in a high area format with double the membrane area. These high area filters maximize capacity without increasing footprint, while reducing costs and supporting sustainability goals.
All Millipore Express® SHR and Millipore Express® SHRP filters are 100% integrity tested during manufacturing.
This image presents three graphs comparing the filtration performance of Millipore Express® SHR membranes against competitors. Graph A illustrates the retention of Acholeplasma laidlawii by Millipore Express® SHR membranes with different filter sizes. Graph B shows the permeability of various membranes per 10-inch cartridge at a specified pressure. Graph C highlights the number of standard cartridges required to filter a specific volume of cell culture medium, demonstrating the efficiency of Millipore Express® filters.
Millipore Express® Ace 0.2 µm Filters
Millipore Express® Ace 0.2 µm filters are the most recent addition to our Millipore Express® filter family and contain an innovative sterilizing-grade membrane. This optimized pore size gradient PES single-layer membrane maximizes membrane area within a standard filter format and delivers exceptional filter capacity and flux while minimizing footprint.
Although suitable for any sterile filtration application, these filters are highly recommended for challenging applications where premature filter fouling is a concern, such as process intermediate filtration, or filtration of complex cell culture media. In addition, with enhanced surface chemistry designed to minimize protein binding, these filters offer a more sustainable, non-per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), alternative to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) filters for final filtration applications.
Millipore Express® Ace 0.2 µm filters are currently available in OptiScale® 25 and Opticap® XL 150, XL 300, and XL 600 formats. All Millipore Express® Ace 0.2 µm filters are 100% integrity tested during manufacturing.
This image features two graphs comparing the performance of Millipore Express® Ace 0.2 µm membranes against competitive filters with different process fluids: (A) EX-CELL® Advanced Perfusion Medium and (B) mAb process intermediate. Graphs show the throughput of different membranes using OptiScale® 25 devices and demonstrate the superior throughput of Millipore Express® Ace filters compared to competitive filters.
Millipore Express® SHC Filters
Filters containing Millipore Express® SHC membrane combine sterilizing-grade performance and superior throughput and capacity in applications where premature filter fouling is a concern, such as filtration of process intermediates.
Millipore Express® SHC filters contain an integrated PES 0.5 μm membrane prefilter that protects the 0.2 μm PES sterilizing-grade membrane from premature plugging, extending filtration capacity. These filters provide sterility assurance, broad chemical compatibility, and high flow rates and are easy to wet out and integrity test.
Millipore Express® SHC filters are available in a high area format with double the membrane area. These high area filters maximize capacity without increasing footprint, while reducing costs and supporting sustainability goals.
All Millipore Express® SHC filters are 100% integrity tested during manufacturing.
This image features two graphs comparing the performance of Millipore Express® SHC membranes against competitors for CHO cell culture growth media and protein concentrate post-ultrafiltration. Graph A illustrates the maximum throughput (V_max) of different membranes without prefiltration. Graph B shows the volume per 10-inch cartridge for each type of membrane, indicating their efficiency in processing.
Millipore Express® SHF Filters
Filters containing Millipore Express® SHF sterilizing-grade membrane provide exceptionally high flow rates for low plugging streams and can be used for any sterile filtration application including final sterile filtration or for less critical steps such as buffer filtration. Explore how these filters can be used for sterile filtration of ophthalmic solutions.
Millipore Express® SHF filters contain a 0.2 µm PES membrane that provides broad chemical compatibility, easy wetting and integrity testing and high flow rates, enabling you to process equivalent volumes with reduced filtration area, thus saving in filtration costs. Read our Tech Note to learn more about Millipore Express® SHF filter performance.
All Millipore Express® SHF filters are 100% integrity tested during manufacturing.
This bar graph illustrates the flux performance of Millipore Express® SHF membranes in comparison to competitors. It presents data for various solutions, including water, phosphate buffer, sodium acetate, and hydrochloric acid, highlighting the efficiency of Millipore Express® SHF membranes against competitor membranes under identical testing conditions.
Millipore Express® PHF Filters
Millipore Express® PHF filters are a cost-effective option for non-critical sterile filtration steps with low plugging streams, such as buffers. These filters contain a sterilizing-grade 0.2 μm PES membrane that provides high flow rates, broad chemical compatibility, and offers easy wetting and integrity testing.
This image presents a bar graph showcasing the relative water permeability of 10-inch cartridge filters, comparing Millipore Express® PHF cartridges with two competitor cartridges. The graph illustrates the performance of each cartridge type, indicating the efficiency of water flow through the filters.
Membrane pleat patterns of Standard (A) and high area (B) filters. High area filters have taller pleats (C) and narrower core (D) than standard area filters with shorter pleats (F) and wider core (E).
Millipore Express® SHC and Millipore Express® SHRP filters are offered in high-area capsule and cartridge formats. These high area filters contain membrane folded in a novel pleat pattern which increases the membrane area inside the filter element, making them ideal for filtration of more plugging streams. Implementing high area filters maximizes filter capacity without increasing footprint.
For more information on sizing high-area filters, read our Tech note.
Compliance Considerations for Filters
- Quality: Our aseptic filters are designed, developed, and manufactured in accordance with a quality management system approved by an accredited registering body to an ISO 9001 quality systems standard. All filters are subject to multiple quality control release tests and are supported by a Certificate of Quality.
- Compliance and Control: Millipore Express® SHR, Millipore Express® SHRP, Millipore Express® SHC, and Millipore Express® SHF filters are supported by the Emprove® Program, which offers access to product and testing information to help you stay ahead of constantly evolving regulatory requirements. This information supports different steps in your raw material and component risk assessment continuum – streamlining your supplier selection, material qualification, process optimization, and patient safety evaluation.
For help selecting a filtration device or format:
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