Guanidine improves DEAE anion exchange-based analytical separation of plasmid DNA.

Elution of strong and weak anion exchangers with sodium chloride gradients is commonly employed for analysis of sample mixtures containing different isomers of plasmid DNA. Gradient elution of a weak anion exchanger (diethylaminoethyl) in the presence of guanidine hydrochloride (Gdn) roughly doubles resolution between open-circular (oc) and supercoiled (sc) isomers. It also improves resolution among sc, linear, and multimeric/aggregated forms. Sharper elution peaks with less tailing increase sensitivity about 30%. However, elution with an exclusively Gdn gradient to 900 mM causes more than 10% loss of plasmid. Elution with a sodium chloride gradient while maintaining Gdn at a level concentration of 300 mM achieves close to 100% recovery of sc plasmid while maintaining the separation improvements achieved by exclusively Gdn elution. Corresponding improvements in separation performance are not observed on a strong (quaternary amine) anion exchanger. Other chaotropic salts do not produce a favorable result on either exchanger, nor does the inclusion of surfactants or EDTA. Selectivity of the diethylaminoethyl-Gdn method is orthogonal to electrophoresis, but with better quantification than agarose electrophoresis, better quantitative accuracy than CE, and resolution approaching CE.

A tribute to Dr. Serge N. Timasheff, our mentor.

Dr. Serge N. Timasheff, our mentor and friend, passed away in 2019. This article is a collection of tributes from his postdoctoral fellows, friends, and daughter, who all have been associated with or influenced by him or his research. Dr. Timasheff is a pioneer of research on thermodynamic linkage between ligand interaction and macromolecular reaction. We all learned a great deal from Dr. Timasheff, not only about science but also about life.

Removal of empty capsids from adeno-associated virus preparations by multimodal metal affinity chromatography.

Separation of empty and full adeno-associated virus capsids by multimodal metal affinity chromatography was investigated using a positively charged metal affinity ligand. A subpopulation of empty capsids eluted first, followed by full capsids, and later by more empty capsids and debris. Empty and full capsid composition of chromatography fractions was evaluated by cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation followed by stratigraphic flow analysis of the centrifuge tube contents, monitored by intrinsic fluorescence. Columns charged with barium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, and ferric ions gave similar results with respect to capsid separation. Charging with cupric ions maintained resolution between early-eluting empty capsids and full capsids but caused them to elute at lower conductivity. Empty and full capsids were fractionated with Tris-borate gradients, sodium chloride gradients, and magnesium chloride gradients. Recovery of full serotype 9 capsids was 100% with complete elimination of empty capsids. All metal ions bound contaminant subsets that required sodium hydroxide for removal. Columns charged with ferric iron and manganese bound more contaminants than all other metals. Columns charged with calcium, magnesium, barium, and copper bound the least. Contaminant binding on zinc-charged columns was intermediate between the two groups.

Multiple-Monitor HPLC Assays for Rapid Process Development, In-Process Monitoring, and Validation of AAV Production and Purification.

HPLC is established as a fast convenient analytical technology for characterizing the content of empty and full capsids in purified samples containing adeno-associated virus (AAV). UV-based monitoring unfortunately over-estimates the proportion of full capsids and offers little value for characterizing unpurified samples. The present study combines dual-wavelength UV monitoring with intrinsic fluorescence, extrinsic fluorescence, and light-scattering to extend the utility of HPLC for supporting development of therapeutic AAV-based drugs. Applications with anion exchange (AEC), cation exchange (CEC), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) are presented. Intrinsic fluorescence increases sensitivity of AAV detection over UV and enables more objective estimation of empty and full capsid ratios by comparison of their respective peak areas. Light scattering enables identification of AAV capsids in complex samples, plus semiquantitative estimation of empty and full capsid ratios from relative peak areas of empty and full capsids. Extrinsic Picogreen fluorescence enables semiquantitative tracking of DNA with all HPLC methods at all stages of purification. It does not detect encapsidated DNA but reveals DNA associated principally with the exteriors of empty capsids. It also enables monitoring of host DNA contamination across chromatograms. These enhancements support many opportunities to improve characterization of raw materials and process intermediates, to accelerate process development, provide rapid in-process monitoring, and support process validation.

Excluded Cosolvent in Chromatography.

The concept of cosolvent exclusion was developed by a group of Timasheff's laboratory in 1970-1990 and is currently used widely to explain the effects of a variety of cosolvents on the stability and solubility of macromolecules. Not surprisingly, these concepts have had substantial influence in the fields of formulation, protein folding and unfolding, but they have perhaps more surprisingly found their way into the field of chromatography. A variety of excluded cosolvents have been used to enhance binding and resolution of proteins and other macromolecules in ion exchange, hydroxyapatite, affinity, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. These cosolvents include salting-out salts, amino acids and polymers, and frequently polyethylene glycol (PEG). A new mode of chromatography, termed "steric exclusion chromatography," was recently introduced. It employs hydroxylated solid phase surfaces. Steric exclusion of the PEG stabilizes the association of macromolecules with the solid phase. Elution is achieved by reducing the PEG concentration. Magnetic particles are also used in this chromatography. This review summarizes the concepts of preferential cosolvent exclusion and its applications in column chromatography.

A simple and efficient purification platform for monoclonal antibody production based on chromatin-directed cell culture clarification integrated with precipitation and void-exclusion anion exchange chromatography.

Protein A affinity chromatography, featured by its robustness and high-specificity, is still dominant as a first capture step for the purification of immunoglobulin G monoclonal antibodies (IgG mAbs). However, the material and operational costs of protein A are universally recognized as high, and its productivity is also limited as column mode. In order to overcome these limitations, industry is increasingly considering the use of non-protein A-based processes for IgG purification. In this study, sodium citrate precipitation (SCP) was developed as the primary purification step, and chromatin-directed cell culture clarification was demonstrated to significantly elevate the purification capability. Additional 0.05% (w/v) of Tween 20 was shown to effectively reduce the residual free antibody light chain (LC) during precipitation. The resuspended IgG was further polished by void-exclusion anion exchange chromatography (VEAX), which supported protein loading without buffer adjustment. The non-histone host cell protein (nh-HCP) content in the final product was about 5ppm and histone HCP below limit of detection (LOD). DNA was reduced to less than 1ppb, and aggregates/free LC less than 0.1%. The overall IgG recovery was 87.2%. A simple and efficient purification platform with only one-column step was therefore established, providing a more promising alternative to the current prevailing protein A-based purification platforms.

Histone-dependent IgG conservation in octanoic acid precipitation and its mechanism.

Octanoic acid (OA) precipitation has long been used in protein purification. Recently, we reported a new cell culture clarification method for immunoglobulin G (IgG) purification, employing an advance elimination of chromatin heteroaggregates with a hybrid OA-solid phase system. This treatment reduced DNA more than 3 logs, histone below the detection limit (LOD), and non-histone host cell proteins (nh-HCP) by 90 % while conserving more than 90 % of the IgG monomer. In this study, we further investigated the conservation of IgG monomer and antibody light chain (LC) to the addition of OA/OA-solid phase complex, with or without histone and DNA in different combinations. The results showed that highly basic histone protein was the prime target in OA/OA-solid phase precipitation system for IgG purification, and the selective conservation of IgG monomer in this system was histone dependent. Our findings partially support the idea that OA works by sticking to electropositive hydrophobic domains on proteins, reducing their solubility, and causing them to agglomerate into large particles that precipitate from solution. Our findings also provide a new perspective for IgG purification and emphasize the necessity to re-examine the roles of various host contaminants in IgG purification.

Advance chromatin extraction enhances performance and productivity of cation exchange chromatography-based capture of Immunoglobulin G monoclonal antibodies.

The impact of host cell-derived chromatin was investigated on the performance and productivity of cation exchange chromatography as a method for capture-purification of an IgG monoclonal antibody. Cell culture supernatant was prepared for loading by titration to pH 6.0, dilution with water to a conductivity of 4mS/cm, then microfiltration to remove solids. DNA content was reduced 99% to 30ppm, histone host cell protein content by 76% to 6300ppm, non-histone host cell protein content by 15% to 321,000ppm, and aggregates from 33% to 15%. IgG recovery was 83%. An alternative preparation was performed, adding octanoic acid, allantoin, and electropositive particles to the harvest at pH 5.3, then removing solids. DNA content was reduced to<1 ppb, histones became undetectable, non-histones were reduced to 24,000ppm, and aggregates were reduced to 2.4%. IgG recovery was 95%. This treatment increased dynamic capacity (DBC) of cation exchange capture to 173g/L and enabled the column to reduce non-histone host proteins to 671ppm. Step recovery was 99%. A single multimodal polishing step further reduced them to 15ppm and aggregates to <0.1%. Overall process recovery was 89%. Productivity at feed stream IgG concentrations of 5-10g/L was roughly double the productivity of a same-size protein A column with a DBC of 55g/L.

Advance chromatin extraction improves capture performance of protein A affinity chromatography.

Practical effects of advance chromatin removal on performance of protein A affinity chromatography were evaluated using a caprylic acid-allantoin-based extraction method. Lacking this treatment, the practice of increasing loading residence time to increase capacity was shown to increase host protein contamination of the eluted IgG. Advance chromatin extraction suspended that compromise. Protein A ligand leakage from columns loaded with chromatin-extracted harvest was half the level observed on protein A columns loaded with non-extracted harvest. Columns loaded with chromatin-extracted harvest were cleaned more effectively by 50-100mM NaOH than columns loaded with non-extracted harvest that were cleaned with 250-500mM NaOH. Two protein A media with IgG capacities in excess of 50g/L were loaded with chromatin-extracted harvest, washed with 2.0M NaCl before elution, and the eluted IgG fraction titrated to pH 5.5 before microfiltration. Host protein contamination in the filtrate was reduced to <1ppm, DNA to <1ppb, protein A leakage to 0.5ppm, and aggregates to 1.0%. Caprylic acid and allantoin were both reduced below 5ppm. Step recovery of IgG was 99.4%. Addition of a single polishing step reduced residual protein A beneath the level of detection and aggregates to <0.1%. Overall process recovery including chromatin extraction was 90%.

Conformational plasticity of IgG during protein A affinity chromatography.

Single step elution of a protein A column with 100mM acetate pH 3.5 produced a curvilinear gradient with pH dropping steeply at first then more gradually as it approached endpoint. IgG with a native hydrodynamic diameter of 11.5 nm began to elute at pH 6.0 with a size of 9.4 nm. IgG size continued to decrease across the peak, reaching a minimum of 2.2 nm at pH 3.9. Secondary structure of early eluting IgG was only mildly affected but later eluting fractions became increasingly non-native with the 2.2 nm population exhibiting the highest proportion of ß-sheet and lowest random coil of all conformations. Size reduction and structural change of IgG through this portion of the elution peak were attributed dominantly to a pre-existing tendency of highly concentrated IgG to adopt reduced size conformations at low pH and conductivity, facilitated by the known conformational relaxation of IgG by its interaction with protein A. IgG size increased to 10.4 nm as elution pH approached 3.5 across the tailing fractions. Major loss of ß-sheet and increase of α-helix and random coil were observed in parallel. Late elution of this population was attributed to it being eluted from interactions with 2 distinct protein A domains, one bound to each side of the Fc region, creating a higher dissociation constant than single-site Fc-protein A interactions, and requiring more severely disruptive conditions for elution. The high degree of conformational disruption was attributed to simultaneous interaction of both heavy chains with protein A.

Non-immunospecific association of immunoglobulin G with chromatin during elution from protein A inflates host contamination, aggregate content, and antibody loss.

Monoclonal IgG at pH 3.5 expressed a tendency to self-associate and associate non-specifically with surfaces, including the surfaces of precipitated chromatin heteroaggregates. The tendency was elevated with protein A-eluted IgG still in elution buffer (100mM acetate, pH 3.5). Association of IgG with chromatin elements under protein A elution conditions amplified host protein contamination of the elution fraction about 15-fold, caused formation of aggregates that persisted after pH neutralization, and imposed an approximate 5% loss on IgG recovery. Neutralization released eluted IgG from its low pH associations with chromatin and caused heteroaggregate remnants to associate into large particles easily removed by microfiltration. Most effective host contaminant clearance was achieved by filtration after neutralization to pH 5.5. All chromatin-mediated liabilities were suspended by extraction of chromatin heteroaggregates in advance of protein A.

Transient conformational modification of immunoglobulin G during purification by protein A affinity chromatography.

Exposure of three native IgG1 monoclonal antibodies to 100mM acetate, pH 3.5 had no significant effect on their hydrodynamic size (11.5±0.5nm), while elution from protein A with the same buffer created a conformation of 5.5±1.0nm. Formation of the reduced-size conformation was preceded by the known destabilization of the second constant domain of the heavy chain (Cγ2) by contact with protein A, then compounded by exposure to low pH, creating extended flexibility in the hinge-Cγ2 region and allowing the Fab region to fold over the Fc region. The reduced-size conformation was necessary for complete elution. It persisted unchanged for at least 7 days under elution conditions. Physiological conditions restored native size, and it was maintained on re-exposure to 100mM acetate, pH 3.5. Protein A-mediated destabilization and subsequent restoration of native size did not create aggregates, but the reduced-size conformation was more susceptible to aggregation by secondary stress than native antibody. Protein A-mediated formation of the reduced-size conformation is probably universal during purification of human IgG1 antibodies, and may occur with other subclasses and IgG from other species, as well as Fc-fusion proteins.

Characterization of DNA in cell culture supernatant by fluorescence-detection size-exclusion chromatography.

A fluorescence-detection size-exclusion chromatography (FSEC) method was developed to characterize DNA in cell culture supernatant. Samples stained with Picogreen were fractionated by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and monitored simultaneously by UV absorbance and fluorescence. SEC provided a size-characterization capability absent from bulk fluorescent assays, and was also free from interference from other fluorescent and UV-absorbing small-molecule cell culture components. FSEC revealed that DNA in mammalian cell culture supernatant exists mostly in the form of nucleosomal arrays. FSEC combined with agarose electrophoresis revealed spontaneous degradation of DNA in mammalian cell culture supernatant over a 30 day period at 4 °C: from arrays containing up to ~40 nucleosomes, down to arrays containing three or fewer nucleosomes. It also detected nucleosomal DNA in wheat, soy, and yeast hydrolysates commonly used to enhance cell culture productivity.

Suppression of IgM Proteolysis by Conformational Stabilization Through Excipients.

Protease activity from host cell lines may cause product loss or affect the quality of recombinant proteins. In this study, we showed that excipients like glycine and sorbitol reduce the proteolysis of an immunoglobulin M (IgM) in the presence of added proteases like α-chymotrypsin, papain, and pepsin. The activity of the proteases in the IgM-protective environments was conserved or even enhanced as tested using low molecular weight substrates. Thus, a higher resistance against proteolytic degradation appears to be caused by the conformational stabilization of the IgM due to preferential exclusion of sorbitol and glycine.

Chromatin-mediated depression of fractionation performance on electronegative multimodal chromatography media, its prevention, and ramifications for purification of immunoglobulin G.

Chromatin heteroaggregates comprising nucleosomal arrays, DNA, histone and non-histone host cell proteins contributed 28% of the host contaminant mass in an IgG cell culture harvest. A subset comprising soluble particles of 50-400nm was retained through its histone component by an electronegative multimodal chromatography adsorbent. Accumulated heteroaggregates hindered pore access and depressed IgG capacity by 69% compared with capacity determined with purified IgG. Heteroaggregate retention persisted in 2M NaCl but some associations within them were dissociated. This manifested during IgG elution as contaminant leaching from the retained heteroaggregate mass, which contributed more than 95% of the contaminants in the IgG. Retained heteroaggregates also interfered with pore egress of eluted IgG, increasing peak width ∼3-fold. IgG recovery was 80%. Remaining heteroaggregates were removed with 1M NaOH. Advance reduction of heteroaggregates with a hybrid fatty acid-solid phase clarification method reduced DNA more than 3 logs, histones beneath the level of detectability, and non-histone proteins by 90% while conserving 90% of the IgG. Non-lipid-enveloped virus was reduced by 5 logs and lipid-enveloped virus by 9 logs. IgG capacity on the multimodal adsorbent was 94mg/mL, compared with 95mg/mL when loaded with protein A-purified IgG. Non-histone host protein reduction increased to 98%. IgG eluted in a sharp concentrated peak and step recovery was >95%. Residual fatty acids did not bind the adsorbent and were mostly eliminated during sample loading. A single polishing step with an electropositive multimodal adsorbent reduced non-histone host proteins to <100ppm, DNA to <10ppb, and aggregates to <0.05%. IgG recovery across the entire process was >80%. These results qualify electronegative multimodal adsorbents as an IgG capture option, but more importantly reveal chromatin heteroaggregate content as a keystone process variable at all stages of purification process development.

Self-assembly of lipopolysaccharide layers on allantoin crystals.

Self-assembly of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on solid surfaces is important for the study of bacterial membranes, but has not been possible due to technical difficulties and the lack of suitable solid supports. Recently we found that crystals of the natural compound allantoin selectively bind pure LPS with sub-nanomolar affinity. The physicochemical origins of this selectivity and the adsorption mode of LPS on allantoin crystals remain, however, unknown. In this study we present evidence that LPS adsorption on allantoin crystals is initiated through hydrogen-bond attachment of hydrophilic LPS regions. Hydrophobic interactions between alkyl chains of adjacently adsorbed LPS molecules subsequently promote self-assembly of LPS layers. The essential role of hydrogen-bond interactions is corroborated by our finding that allantoin crystals bind to practically any hydrophilic surface chemistry. Binding contributions of hydrophobic interactions between LPS alkyl chains are evidenced by the endothermic nature of the adsorption process and explain why the binding affinity for LPS is several orders of magnitude higher than for proteins (lysozyme, BSA and IgG) and polysaccharides. Self-assembly of LPS layers via hydrogen-bond attachment on allantoin crystals emerges as a novel binding mechanism and could be considered as a practical method for preparing biomimetic membranes on a solid support.

Nonspecific interactions of chromatin with immunoglobulin G and protein A, and their impact on purification performance.

Chromatin released from dead host cells during in vitro production of IgG monoclonal antibodies exists mostly in complex hetero-aggregates consisting of nucleosomal arrays (DNA+histone proteins), non-histone proteins, and aberrant forms of IgG. They bind immobilized protein A more aggressively than IgG, through their nucleosomal histone components, and hinder access of IgG to Fc-specific binding sites, thereby reducing dynamic binding capacity. The majority of host cell contaminants in eluted IgG are leachates from chromatin hetero-aggregates that remain bound to protein A. Formation of turbidity in eluted IgG during pH titration is caused by neutral-pH insolubility of chromatin hetero-aggregates. NaOH is required at 500 mM to remove accumulated chromatin. A chromatin-directed clarification method removed 99% of histones, 90% of non-histone proteins, achieved a 6 log reduction of DNA, 4 log reduction of lipid-enveloped virus, and 5 log reduction of non-enveloped retrovirus, while conserving 98% of the native IgG. This suspended most of performance compromises imposed on protein A. IgG binding capacity increased ~20%. Host protein contamination was reduced about 100-fold compared to protein A loaded with harvest clarified by centrifugation and microfiltration. Aggregates were reduced to less than 0.05%. Turbidity of eluted IgG upon pH neutralization was nearly eliminated. Column cleaning was facilitated by minimizing the accumulation of chromatin.

High productivity purification of immunoglobulin G monoclonal antibodies on starch-coated magnetic nanoparticles by steric exclusion of polyethylene glycol.

We achieved exceptionally high capacity capture of monoclonal IgG by adding 200 nm starch-coated magnetic particles as nucleation centers, adding polyethylene glycol (PEG), then collecting the particle-associated antibody in a magnetic field. Experimental data suggest that accretion of IgG begins on particle surfaces then continues with fusion of particle-centric accretions up to about 1mm in a process that closely parallels PEG precipitation. An embedded nanoparticle mass of 1.3% of the IgG mass is adequate to enable efficient magnetic collection of the associated IgG. Recovery of purified IgG averaged 98% up to loads of 78 mg of IgG per mg of particles. Converted to an equivalent volume of settled particles, this represents about 58 g IgG per mL of nanoparticles, which is roughly 1000 times higher than the average capacity of commercial protein A porous particles packed in columns. When applied to cell culture harvest clarified by centrifugation and microfiltration, performing the nanoparticle technique under physiological conditions permitted only a 10-fold reduction of host cell protein (HCP) contamination and IgG recovery less than 50%. Application of a more capable clarification method and operating the nanoparticle method at 0.5-1.0M NaCl supported more than 99% HCP reduction and 87% IgG recovery. The high salt concentration also dramatically diminished the influence of operating pH on selectivity. The nanoparticle step was followed by sample application without buffer exchange to a column packed with multimodal electropositive-hydrophobic particles that reduced HCP to 2 ppm. Aggregate content was reduced from 4.9 to 3.6% at the nanoparticle step, then to less than 0.05% at the multimodal step. The multimodal step also removed residual PEG. Overall IgG recovery was 69%. The ability of the system to achieve purity similar to protein A, but dramatically higher productivity than packed columns, suggests that the technique could evolve as a credible option for industrial purification of monoclonal antibodies.

Allantoin as a solid phase adsorbent for removing endotoxins.

In this study we present a simple and robust method for removing endotoxins from protein solutions by using crystals of the small-molecule compound 2,5-dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl urea (allantoin) as a solid phase adsorbent. Allantoin crystalline powder is added to a protein solution at supersaturated concentrations, endotoxins bind and undissolved allantoin crystals with bound endotoxins are removed by filtration or centrifugation. This method removes an average of 99.98% endotoxin for 20 test proteins. The average protein recovery is ∼80%. Endotoxin binding is largely independent of pH, conductivity, reducing agent and various organic solvents. This is consistent with a hydrogen-bond based binding mechanism. Allantoin does not affect protein activity and stability, and the use of allantoin as a solid phase adsorbent provides better endotoxin removal than anion exchange, polymixin affinity and biological affinity methods for endotoxin clearance.

Amide-mediated hydrogen bonding at organic crystal/water interfaces enables selective endotoxin binding with picomolar affinity.

Since the discovery of endotoxins as the primary toxic component of Gram-negative bacteria, researchers have pursued the quest for molecules that detect, neutralize, and remove endotoxins. Selective removal of endotoxins is particularly challenging for protein solutions and, to this day, no general method is available. Here, we report that crystals of the purine-derived compound allantoin selectively adsorb endotoxins with picomolar affinity through amide-mediated hydrogen bonding in aqueous solutions. Atom force microscopy and chemical inhibition experiments indicate that endotoxin adsorption is largely independent from hydrophobic and ionic interactions with allantoin crystals and is mediated by hydrogen bonding with amide groups at flat crystal surfaces. The small size (500 nm) and large specific surface area of allantoin crystals results in a very high endotoxin-binding capacity (3 × 10(7) EU/g) which compares favorably with known endotoxin-binding materials. These results provide a proof-of-concept for hydrogen bond-based molecular recognition processes in aqueous solutions and establish a practical method for removing endotoxins from protein solutions.