Better predictive ability of salt and buffer effects on protein-protein interactions requires separating out contributions due to ionic screening, protein charge neutralization by ion binding, and salting-in(out) behavior. We have carried out a systematic study by measuring protein-protein interactions for a monoclonal antibody over an ionic strength range of 25 to 525 mM at 4 pH values (5, 6.5, 8, and 9) in solutions containing sodium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium sulfate, or sodium thiocyante. The salt ions are chosen so as to represent a range of affinities for protein charged and noncharged groups. The results are compared to effects of various buffers including acetate, citrate, phosphate, histidine, succinate, or tris. In low ionic strength solutions, anion binding affinity is reflected by the ability to reduce protein-protein repulsion, which follows the order thiocyanate > sulfate > chloride. The sulfate specific effect is screened at the same ionic strength required to screen the pH dependence of protein-protein interactions indicating sulfate binding only neutralizes protein charged groups. Thiocyanate specific effects occur over a larger ionic strength range reflecting adsorption to charged and noncharged regions of the protein. The latter leads to salting-in behavior and, at low pH, a nonmonotonic interaction profile with respect to sodium thiocyanate concentration. The effects of thiocyanate can not be rationalized in terms of only neutralizing double layer forces indicating the presence of an additional short-ranged protein-protein attraction at moderate ionic strength. Conversely, buffer specific effects can be explained through a charge neutralization mechanism, where buffers with greater valency are more effective at reducing double layer forces at low pH. Citrate binding at pH 6.5 leads to protein charge inversion and the formation of attractive electrostatic interactions. Throughout the report, we highlight similarities in the measured protein-protein interaction profiles with previous studies of globular proteins and of antibodies providing evidence that the behavior will be common to other protein systems.
The purpose of this study was to assess the stability of protein formulations using a device designed to generate defined, quantifiable levels of shear in the presence of a solid-liquid interface. The device, based on a rotating disk, produced shear strain rates of up to 3.4 x 10(4) s(-1) (at 250 rps) and was designed to exclude air-liquid interfaces and enable temperature to be controlled. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to study the fluid flow patterns within the device and to determine the shear strain rate (s(-1)) at a range of disk speeds. The device was then used to study the effect on a monoclonal IgG4 of high levels of shear at the solid-liquid interface. Monomeric antibody concentration and aggregation of the protein in solution were monitored by gel permeation HPLC and turbidity at 350 nm. High shear strain rates were found to cause significant levels of protein aggregation and precipitation with reduction of protein monomer following first-order kinetics. Monomer reduction rate was determined for a range of disk speeds and found to have a nonlinear relationship with shear strain rate, indicating the importance of identifying and minimizing such environments during processing.
Predicting the concentrated solution behavior for monoclonal antibodies requires developing and using minimal models to describe their shape and interaction potential. Toward this end, the small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) profiles for a monoclonal antibody (COE-03) have been measured under solution conditions chosen to produce weak self-association. The experiments are complemented with molecular simulations of a three-bead antibody model with and without interbead attraction. The scattering profile is extracted directly from the molecular simulation to avoid using the decoupling approximation. We examine the ability of the three-bead model to capture features of the scattering profile and the dependence of compressibilty on protein concentration. The three-bead model is able to reproduce generic features of the experimental structure factor as a function of wave vector S(k) including a well-defined shoulder, which is a consequence of the planar structure of the antibody, and a well-defined minimum in S(k) at k ∼ 0.025 Å. We also show the decoupling approximation is incapable of accounting for highly anisotropic shapes. The best-fit parameters obtained from matching spherical models to simulated scattering profiles are protein concentration dependent, which limits their applicability for predicting thermodynamic properties. Nevertheless, the experimental compressibility curves can be accurately reproduced by an appropriate parametrization of the Baxter adhesive model, indicating the model provides a semiempirical equation of state for the antibody. The results provide insights into how equations of state can be improved for antibodies by accounting for their anisotropic shapes.
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Assessing how excipients affect the self-association of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) requires informative and direct in situ measurements for highly concentrated solutions, without sample dilution or perturbation. This study explores the application of solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for characterization of typical mAb behavior in formulations containing arginine glutamate. The data show that the analysis of signal intensities in 1D 1H NMR spectra, when compensated for changes in buffer viscosity, is invaluable for identifying conditions where protein-protein interactions are minimized. NMR-derived molecular translational diffusion rates for concentrated solutions are less useful than transverse relaxation rates as parameters defining optimal formulation. Furthermore, NMR reports on the solution viscosity and mAb aggregation during accelerated stability study assessment, generating data consistent with that acquired by size-exclusion chromatography. The methodology developed here offers NMR spectroscopy as a new tool providing complementary information useful to formulation development of mAbs and other large therapeutic proteins.
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