Nonwoven membranes are highly engineered fibrous materials that can be
manufactured on a large scale from a wide range of different polymers,
and their surfaces can be modified using a large variety of different
chemistries and ligands. The fiber diameters, surface areas, pore sizes,
total porosities, and thicknesses of the nonwoven mats can be carefully
controlled, providing many opportunities for creative approaches for the
development of novel membranes with unique properties to meet the needs
of the future of downstream processing. Fibrous membranes are already
finding use in ultrafiltration, microfiltration, depth filtration, and,
more recently, in membrane chromatography for product capture and
impurity removal. This article summarizes the various methods of
manufacturing nonwoven fabrics, and the many methods available for the
modification of the fiber surfaces. It also reviews recent studies
focused on the use of nonwoven fabric devices in membrane chromatography
and provides some perspectives on the challenges that need to be
overcome to increase binding capacities, decrease residence times, and
reduce pressure drops so that eventually they can replace resin column
chromatography in downstream process operations.