Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is widely used to study protein secondary structure both in solution and in the solid state. The FTIR spectroscopic method has also been employed as a characterization method by the biopharmaceutical industry to determine the higher order structure of protein therapeutics, and to determine if any changes in protein conformation have occurred as a result of changes to process, formulation, manufacture, and storage conditions. The results of these studies are often included in regulatory filings; when comparability is assessed, the comparison is often qualitative. To demonstrate that the method can be quantitative, and is suitable for these intended purposes, the precision and sensitivity of the FTIR method were evaluated. The results show that FTIR spectroscopic analysis is reproducible with suitable method precision, that is, spectral similarity of replicate measurements is greater than 90%. The method can detect secondary structural changes caused by pH and denaturant. The sensitivity of the method in detecting structural changes depends on the extent of the changes and their impact on the resulting spectral similarity and characteristic FTIR bands. The results of these assessments are described in this paper.

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used to characterize protein thermal stability, overall conformation, and domain folding integrity by the biopharmaceutical industry. Recently, there have been increased requests from regulatory agencies for the qualification of characterization methods including DSC. Understanding the method precision can help determine what differences between samples are significant and also establish the acceptance criteria for comparability and other characterization studies. In this study, we identify the parameters for the qualification of DSC for thermal stability analysis of proteins. We use these parameters to assess the precision and sensitivity of DSC and demonstrate that DSC is suitable for protein thermal stability analysis for these purposes. Several molecules from different structural families were studied. The experiments and data analyses were performed by different analysts using different instruments at different sites. The results show that the (apparent) thermal transition midpoint (T(m)) values obtained for the same protein by same and different instruments and/or analysts are quite reproducible, and the profile similarity values obtained for the same protein from the same instrument are also high. DSC is an appropriate method for assessing protein thermal stability and conformational changes.

The circulation half-life of a potential therapeutic can be increased by fusing the molecule of interest (an active peptide, the extracellular domain of a receptor, an enzyme, etc.) to the Fc fragment of a monoclonal antibody. In order for the fusion protein to be a successful therapeutic, it must be stable to process and long term storage conditions, as well as to physiological conditions. The stability of the Fc used is critical for obtaining a successful therapeutic protein. The effects of pH, temperature and salt on the stabilities of E. coli- and CHO-derived IgG1 Fc high order structure were probed using a variety of biophysical techniques. Fc molecules derived from both Escherichia coli-(E. coli) and Chinese Hamster Ovary cells-(CHO) were compared. The IgG1 Fc molecules from both sources (glycosylated and aglycosylated) are folded at neutral pH and behave similarly upon heat and low pH induced unfolding. The unfolding of both IgG1 Fc molecules occurs via a multi-step unfolding process, with the tertiary structure and CH2 domain unfolding first, followed by changes in the secondary structure and CH3 domain. The acid-induced unfolding of IgG1 Fc molecules is only partially reversible, with the formation of high molecular weight species. The CHO-derived Fc protein (glycosylated) is more compact (smaller hydrodynamic radius) than the E. coli-derived protein (aglycosylated) at neutral pH. Unfolding is dependent on pH and salt concentration. The glycosylated CH2 domain melts 4-5oC higher than the aglycosylated domain and the low pH induced unfolding of the glycosylated Fc molecule occurs at ~0.5 pH lower than the aglycosylated protein. The difference observed between E. coli- and CHO-derived Fc molecules primarily involves the CH2 domain, where the glycosylation of the Fc resides.

Particles isolated from a pre-filled syringe containing a protein-based solution were identified as aggregated protein and tungsten. The origin of the tungsten was traced to the tungsten pins used in the supplier's syringe barrel forming process. A tungsten recovery study showed that the vacuum stopper placement process has a significant impact on the total amount of tungsten in solutions. The air gap formed in the syringe funnel area (rich in residual tungsten) becomes accessible to solutions when the vacuum is pulled. Leachable tungsten deposits that were not removed by the supplier's wash process are concentrated in this small area. Extraction procedures used to measure residual tungsten in empty syringes would under-report the tungsten quantity unless the funnel area is wetted during the extraction. Improved syringe barrel forming and washing processes at the supplier have lowered the residual tungsten content and significantly reduced the risk of protein aggregate formation. This experience demonstrates that packaging component manufacturing processes, which are outside the direct control of drug manufacturers, can have an impact on the drug product quality. Thus close technical communication with suppliers of product contact components plays an important role in making a successful biotherapeutic.

Tungsten has been associated with protein aggregation in prefilled syringes (PFSs). This study probed the relationship between PFSs, tungsten, visible particles, and protein aggregates. Experiments were carried out spiking solutions of two different model proteins with tungsten species obtained from the extraction of tungsten pins typically used in syringe manufacturing processes. These results were compared to those obtained with various soluble tungsten species from commercial sources. Although visible protein particles and aggregates were induced by tungsten from both sources, the extract from tungsten pins was more effective at inducing the formation of the soluble protein aggregates than the tungsten from other sources. Furthermore, our studies showed that the effect of tungsten on protein aggregation is dependent on the pH of the buffer used, the tungsten species, and the tungsten concentration present. The lower pH and increased tungsten concentration induced more protein aggregation. The protein molecules in the tungsten-induced aggregates had mostly nativelike structure, and aggregation was at least partly reversible. The aggregation was dependent on tungsten and protein concentration, and the ratio of these two and appears to arise through electrostatic interaction between protein and tungsten molecules. The level of tungsten required from the various sources was different, but in all cases it was at least an order of magnitude greater than the typical soluble tungsten levels measured in commercial PFS.

Fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to measure changes in the tertiary structure of proteins in the solution state. The sensitivity of fluorescence to the protein tryptophan environment has made it a useful tool for studying protein conformation and stability. Using fluorescence spectroscopy to probe structural alterations in lyophilized proteins has been limited due to technical challenges and overwhelming background light scattering. We have investigated the possibility of analyzing lyophilized proteins using the Cary-Eclipse spectrofluorometer by monitoring the fluorescence of the protein therapeutic after subjecting the lyophilized cake to heat-induced accelerated degradation. We have been able to obtain reproducible fluorescence spectra, detecting possible structural changes under these conditions. Fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopic analyses of the reconstituted proteins indicated that changes in fluorescence intensities observed in the solid state could be correlated to that in solution and to possible tertiary structural changes. Size exclusion chromatography analysis of protein Y subject to accelerated degradation showed a correlation between decreasing fluorescence intensity and increasing protein Y tetramer in solution, consistent with long-term stability. This suggests that solid state, intrinsic protein fluorescence measurements using the Cary-Eclipse holder may be feasible for long-term stability studies and formulation development.

Antibodies recognize antigens through six hypervariable loops, five of which have a limited set of conformations known as canonical structures. For κ light chains, the majority of CDR-L3 [the third hypervariable loop of the light chain variable domain (V(L))] adopts the type 1 canonical structure (CS1), with a cis-proline at position 95. Here, we present the design and structural studies of the monoclonal antibody mAb15 and related mutants that contained a series of progressively germline mutations only in the heavy chain variable domain (V(H)) that ultimately led to an increase of more than 11°C in the melting temperature (T(m)) of the antigen-binding fragment (Fab). The all-trans CDR-L3 structure in the wild type is significantly different from any known CDR-L3 canonical structures. In the thermally stable mutants, the L94(L)-S95(L) peptide bond adopts an energetically unfavorable non-X-proline cis conformation, but the overall CDR-L3 loop converted to CS1. The stabilized V(H) appears to function as a specific molecular chaperone that facilitated the trans-cis isomerization of S95(L). Thus, it is plausible that proline is the evolutionary choice to maintain overall structure and stability for V(L). These results provide new insights into the evolution of CS1 and suggest a potential molecular switch mechanism at position 95 that links CDR-L3 structural diversity and antibody stability and will have implications for antibody engineering.

Concern around the lack of monitoring of proteinaceous subvisible particulates in the 0.1-10 microm range has been heightened (Carpenter et al., 2009, J Pharm Sci 98: 1202-1205), primarily due to uncertainty around the potential immunogenicity risk from these particles. This article, representing the opinions of a number of industry scientists, aims to further the discussion by developing a common understanding around the technical capabilities, limitations, as well as utility of monitoring this size range; reiterating that the link between aggregation and clinical immunogenicity has not been unequivocally established; and emphasizing that such particles are present in marketed products which remain safe and efficacious despite the lack of monitoring. Measurement of subvisible particulates in the <10 microm size range has value as an aid in product development and characterization. Limitations in measurement technologies, variability from container/closure, concentration, viscosity, history, and inherent batch heterogeneity, make these measurements unsuitable as specification for release and stability or for comparability, at the present time. Such particles constitute microgram levels of protein with currently monitored sizes >or=10 microm representing the largest fraction. These levels are well below what is detected or reported for other product quality attributes. Subvisible particles remain a product quality attribute that is also qualified in clinical trials.

Sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation (SV-AUC) is routinely applied in biopharmaceutical development to measure levels of protein aggregation in protein products. SV-AUC is free from many limitations intrinsic to size exclusion chromatography (SEC) such as mobile phase and column interaction effects on protein self-association. Despite these clear advantages, SV-AUC exhibits lower precision measurements than corresponding measurements by SEC. The precision of SV-AUC is influenced by numerous factors, including sample characteristics, cell alignment, centerpiece quality, and data analysis approaches. In this study, we evaluate the precision of SV-AUC in its current practice utilizing a multilaboratory, multiproduct intermediate precision study. We then explore experimental approaches to improve SV-AUC measurement precision, with emphasis on utilization of high quality centerpieces.

Aggregation is often the major issue during formulation and manufacturing development of therapeutic proteins, in particular human monoclonal antibody. Currently, there is a lack of structural information of aggregates of such large protein as human antibodies, due to the large molecular sizes of the aggregates. In this article, we shall discuss the application of vibrational spectroscopies including FT-IR, Raman and Raman Optical Activity (ROA), to characterize the structures of various types of monoclonal antibody aggregates formed under different stresses. Two different classes of human monoclonal antibodies, namely IgG1 and IgG2, have been subjected to this structural investigation. The common stresses leading to antibody aggregation, mis-folding or unfolding during manufacturing and formulation include exposure to acidic pHs, heat and shear stress. The effect of different types of stresses on the structure and aggregate formation of human monoclonal antibodies has been investigated by employing vibrational spectroscopy. While data present only monoclonal antibody, the same technology can be used for any protein aggregates.

Biopharmaceuticals represent an important and growing class of medicines. Immunogenic responses to biopharmaceuticals in patients can sometimes result in reduced safety and efficacy. Although multiple factors are known to influence immunogenicity, our understanding of the complex underlying mechanisms remains imperfect. In particular, the potential impact of protein aggregates (particulates) on immunogenicity is currently not well understood. This commentary discusses emerging technologies for particle assessment, what is known about the link between particulates and product safety and efficacy, and current regulatory guidances and perspectives. We consider approaches that in the future may permit specific particle attributes to be correlated with relative immunogenic risk, including the value of data derived from clinical and postmarketing surveillance. Finally, we identify some key remaining questions, which, when answered, may guide future strategies for decreasing the immunogenicity of biopharmaceuticals. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci.

The critical question addressed in this paper regards how industry and regulatory agencies should manage the risk of adverse events to patients posed by product quality attributes for which a preponderance of evidence from clinical and/or non-clinical studies supports it as a risk, but for which the probability of clinical adverse events arising from the attribute is uncertain. We here provide our perspective on the principles that can be applied to determine the need for and the manner in which to control quality attributes when their impact on safety and/or efficacy is suspected, but uncertain. As an example, we use the risk of immune responses to protein therapeutics posed by sub-visible protein particulates in therapeutic proteins. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci.

All therapeutic protein products contain intrinsic particles formed by the aggregation of protein monomers. There is growing interest in understanding particles in biopharmaceutical products, fostered on one hand by significant advancements in particle analysis and on the other hand by concerns about potential impact of particles on product quality and safety. With currently available methods, particles in therapeutic proteins can be counted, sized, and characterized in a rudimentary way over a broad size range (from 10s of nanometers to 100s of micrometers). Here, we review the known attributes of common protein particles, and then discuss the gaps in our current knowledge. The capabilities, limitations, and opportunities for improvement of common particle counting and characterization methods are listed. We conclude that further analytical progress is needed to better classify and characterize the diversity of particles encountered in therapeutic proteins, which may vary in the degree of protein unfolding, the inclusion of nonprotein nucleation centers, and aggregate morphology. Very little is known about the potential correlation between specific particle attributes and increased immunogenicity. In this environment of uncertainty, a deeper understanding about specific particle attributes and potentially increased immunogenicity is greatly needed and will likely be an area of future intensive research. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci.

Comparability determination for protein therapeutics requires an assessment of their higher order structure, usually by using spectroscopic methods. One of the most common techniques used to determine secondary structure composition of proteins is analysis of the second derivative of the amide I region of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. A number of algorithms have been described for quantitative comparison of second-derivative amide I FTIR spectra, but no systematic evaluation has been conducted to assess these approaches. In this study, the two most common methods, spectral correlation coefficient and area of overlap (AO), are compared for their ability to determine spectral comparability of a protein as a function of changes in pH or temperature. Two other algorithms were considered as well. Recently, a QC compare similarity function found in OMNIC software has been reported as being useful in comparing amide I FTIR spectra. In addition, a new algorithm, termed modified AO, is described herein. These four methods were evaluated for their ability to determine comparability for second-derivative amide I FTIR spectra of four model proteins. The result is a framework for quantitative determination of whether any two spectra differ significantly.

The biopharmaceutical industry characterizes and quantifies aggregation of protein therapeutics using multiple analytical techniques to cross-validate results. Here, we demonstrate the use of electrospray-differential mobility analysis (ES-DMA), a gas-phase and atmospheric pressure ion-mobility method for characterizing protein aggregates. Two immunoglobulin Gs are systematically heat treated to induce aggregation and characterized using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and ES-DMA. Although ES-DMA is a gas-phase characterization method, we find that aggregation kinetic rate constants determined by ES-DMA is in good agreement with those determined by SEC. ES-DMA appears to have a higher resolution and lower limit of detection as compared with SEC. Thus, ES-DMA can potentially become an important orthogonal tool for characterization of nascent protein aggregates in the biopharmaceutical industry.

The succinimide intermediate generated during deamidation of asparagine-containing peptides and proteins has been implicated as having a role in the formation of multiple types of degradants in addition to hydrolysis products, including racemization products and, more recently, amide-linked, nonreducible protein and peptide aggregates. The formation of alternative degradants may be particularly important in solid-state formulations. This study quantitatively examines the role of the succinimide intermediate in hydrolysis, racemization, and covalent, amide-linked adduct formation in amorphous lyophiles. The degradation of a model peptide, Gly-Phe-l-Asn-Gly, and its l- or d-succinimide intermediates were examined in lyophiles containing hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and varying amounts of excess Gly-Val. Disappearance of the starting reactants and formation of up to 10 degradants were monitored when lyophiles were exposed to either 27°C/40% relative humidity (RH) or 40°C/75 RH using a stability indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method. Terminal degradant profiles were the same when the starting reactant was either Gly-Phe-l-Asn-Gly or its succinimide intermediate. Nucleophilic attack occurred preferentially at the α-carbonyl of the succinimide intermediate at ratios of approximately 2:1 for both water and the N-terminus of Gly-Val as the attacking nucleophiles. A mechanism-based kinetic model analysis indicates that hydrolysis, racemization, and covalent, amide-linked adduct formation all proceed via the succinimide intermediate. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 101:3096-3109, 2012.

Highly concentrated protein solutions are becoming increasingly commonplace within the biopharmaceutical industry as more products are developed that feature high doses of drug intended for subcutaneous administration. An as-yet undeveloped subclass of these products feature multiple proteins coformulated together in high-concentration protein mixtures. Previous work has illustrated that the viscosity of aqueous solutions of various proteins at high concentrations can be remarkably different across otherwise similar molecules. This work characterizes the viscosity behavior of mixtures of such proteins, primarily monoclonal antibodies, and shows that a simple mixing rule first proposed by Arrhenius predicts the viscosity of an arbitrary mixture. This approach is shown to successfully calculate the viscosity of mixtures of proteins ranging up to 250 mg/mL total protein concentration and approximately 1700 cP at different ionic strengths and with accuracy errors of less than 10%. Only information about the viscosity of the isolated protein components of the mixture is required for the calculations.

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used to characterize protein thermal stability, overall conformation, and domain folding integrity by the biopharmaceutical industry. Recently, there have been increased requests from regulatory agencies for the qualification of characterization methods including DSC. Understanding the method precision can help determine what differences between samples are significant and also establish the acceptance criteria for comparability and other characterization studies. In this study, we identify the parameters for the qualification of DSC for thermal stability analysis of proteins. We use these parameters to assess the precision and sensitivity of DSC and demonstrate that DSC is suitable for protein thermal stability analysis for these purposes. Several molecules from different structural families were studied. The experiments and data analyses were performed by different analysts using different instruments at different sites. The results show that the (apparent) thermal transition midpoint (T(m)) values obtained for the same protein by same and different instruments and/or analysts are quite reproducible, and the profile similarity values obtained for the same protein from the same instrument are also high. DSC is an appropriate method for assessing protein thermal stability and conformational changes.

Aluminum (Al) salt-based adjuvants are present in a large variety of licensed vaccines and their use is widely considered for formulations in clinical trials. Although the regulatory agencies have clearly stated the acceptable levels of Al salts in vaccines for human use, there are no general indications for preclinical research. This brief commentary reviews the current status of Al concentrations in licensed vaccines, the related potential toxicity in preclinical species, and proposes a general guideline for selection of suitable Al salt levels in preclinical models, focusing on the formulation development for recombinant protein antigens. A table with conversion factors is included in order to provide a tool for calculation of doses with different Al salts.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is widely used to study protein secondary structure both in solution and in the solid state. The FTIR spectroscopic method has also been employed as a characterization method by the biopharmaceutical industry to determine the higher order structure of protein therapeutics, and to determine if any changes in protein conformation have occurred as a result of changes to process, formulation, manufacture, and storage conditions. The results of these studies are often included in regulatory filings; when comparability is assessed, the comparison is often qualitative. To demonstrate that the method can be quantitative, and is suitable for these intended purposes, the precision and sensitivity of the FTIR method were evaluated. The results show that FTIR spectroscopic analysis is reproducible with suitable method precision, that is, spectral similarity of replicate measurements is greater than 90%. The method can detect secondary structural changes caused by pH and denaturant. The sensitivity of the method in detecting structural changes depends on the extent of the changes and their impact on the resulting spectral similarity and characteristic FTIR bands. The results of these assessments are described in this paper.