Abstract: The invention provides methods for a purifying protein of interest from a mixture comprising the protein of interest and one or more contaminants, including host cell DNA and proteins, by precipitation of the contaminants with caprylic acid. Such methods are particularly useful for purifying antibodies from cell cultures. Moreover, mixtures that have been depleted of contaminants using the methods of the invention can be used directly in downstream chromatography applications (e.g., ion exchange chromatography) without any further purification. These methods lead to manufacturing processes with a minimum number of unit operations and reduce the resource requirements, and thus positively influence the cost of goods for therapeutic protein production.