Assessing detergent-mediated virus inactivation, protein stability, and impurity clearance in biologics downstream processes.

Detergent-mediated virus inactivation (VI) provides a valuable orthogonal strategy for viral clearance in mammalian processes, in particular for next-generation continuous manufacturing. Furthermore, there exists an industry-wide need to replace the conventionally employed detergent Triton X-100 with eco-friendly alternatives. However, given Triton X-100 has been the gold standard for VI due its minimal impact on protein stability and high inactivation efficacy, inactivation by other eco-friendly detergents and its impact on protein stability is not well understood. In this study, the sugar-based detergent commonly used in membrane protein purification, n-dodecyl-ß- d-maltoside was found to be a promising alternative for VI. We investigated a panel of detergents to compare the relative VI efficacy, impact on therapeutic quality attributes, and clearance of the VI agent and other impurities through subsequent chromatographic steps. Detergent-mediated inactivation and protein stability showed comparable trends to low pH inactivation. Using experimental and modeling data, we found detergent-mediated product aggregation and its kinetics to be driven by extrinsic factors such as detergent and protein concentration. Detergent-mediated aggregation was also impacted by an initial aggregation level as well as intrinsic factors such as the protein sequence and detergent hydrophobicity, and critical micelle concentration. Knowledge gained here on factors driving product stability and VI provides valuable insight to design, standardize, and optimize conditions (concentration and duration of inactivation) for screening of detergent-mediated VI.

One-step affinity capture and precipitation for improved purification of an industrial monoclonal antibody using Z-ELP functionalized nanocages.

Protein A chromatography has been identified as a potential bottleneck in the monoclonal antibody production platform, leading to increased interest in non-chromatographic capture technologies. Affinity precipitation using environmentally responsive, Z-domain-elastin-like polypeptide (Z-ELP) fusion proteins has been shown to be a promising alternative. However, elevated temperature and salt concentrations necessary for precipitation resulted in decreased antibody monomer content and reduced purification capacity. To improve upon the existing technology, we reported an enhanced affinity precipitation of antibodies by conjugating Z-ELP to a 25 nm diameter, self-assembled E2 protein nanocage (Z-ELP-E2). The enlarged scale of aggregate formation and IgG-triggered crosslinking through multi-valent binding significantly outperformed traditional Z-ELP-based methods. In the current work, we sought to develop an affinity precipitation process capable of purifying industrial monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) at ambient temperature with minimal added salt. We discovered that the mAb-nanocage complex aggregated within 10 min at room temperature without the addition of salt due to the enhanced multi-valent cross-linking. After precipitating out of solution, the complex remained insoluble under all wash buffers tested, and only resolubilized after a low pH elution. Through optimization of key process steps, the affinity precipitation yield and impurity clearance met or exceeded protein A chromatography performance with 95% yield, 3.7 logs host cell protein reduction, and >5 logs of DNA reduction from mAb cell culture. Because of the operational flexibility afforded by this one-step affinity capture and precipitation process, the Z-ELP-E2 based approach has the potential to be a viable alternative to platform mAb purification.

Contributions of depth filter components to protein adsorption in bioprocessing.

Depth filtration is widely used in downstream bioprocessing to remove particulate contaminants via depth straining and is therefore applied to harvest clarification and other processing steps. However, depth filtration also removes proteins via adsorption, which can contribute variously to impurity clearance and to reduction in product yield. The adsorption may occur on the different components of the depth filter, that is, filter aid, binder, and cellulose filter. We measured adsorption of several model proteins and therapeutic proteins onto filter aids, cellulose, and commercial depth filters at pH 5-8 and ionic strengths <50 mM and correlated the adsorption data to bulk measured properties such as surface area, morphology, surface charge density, and composition. We also explored the role of each depth filter component in the adsorption of proteins with different net charges, using confocal microscopy. Our findings show that a complete depth filter's maximum adsorptive capacity for proteins can be estimated by its protein monolayer coverage values, which are of order mg/m2 , depending on the protein size. Furthermore, the extent of adsorption of different proteins appears to depend on the nature of the resin binder and its extent of coating over the depth filter surface, particularly in masking the cation-exchanger-like capacity of the siliceous filter aids. In addition to guiding improved depth filter selection, the findings can be leveraged in inspiring a more intentional selection of components and design of depth filter construction for particular impurity removal targets.

Ultrafiltration behavior of monoclonal antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins: Effects of physical properties.

Ultrafiltration (UF) is used for the final concentration and formulation of essentially all antibody-based therapeutics including both monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and Fc-fusion proteins. The objective of this study was to quantitatively compare the filtrate flux behavior for two highly purified mAbs and an Fc-fusion protein under identical flow and buffer conditions. Filtrate flux data were obtained using a Pellicon 3 tangential flow filtration cassette over a wide range of transmembrane pressures and bulk protein concentrations. Independent experimental measurements were performed to evaluate the protein osmotic pressure and solution viscosity. The maximum achievable protein concentration was directly correlated with the solution viscosity, which controls the pressure drop and extent of back-filtration in the cassette. The filtrate flux data were analyzed using a recently developed model that accounts for the effects of intermolecular interactions and transmembrane pressure gradients on the extent of concentration polarization. These results provide important insights into the factors controlling the filtrate flux during the UF of concentrated protein solutions and an effective framework for the design/analysis of UF processes for the formulation of antibody-based therapeutics. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2057-2065. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.