Probing Shear Thinning Behaviors of IgG Molecules at the Air-Water Interface via Rheological Methods.

Shear thinning behavior, often observed in shear viscosity tests of IgG therapeutic molecules, could lead to significant disparities in the projections for the viscosity profile of a molecule. Despite its importance, molecular determinants of sheer thinning in protein suspensions are largely unknown. To better understand the factors influencing sheer thinning, viscosity profiles of IgG1 and IgG2 molecules were monitored over a wide range of bulk concentrations (0.007-70 mg/mL). The degree of shear-thinning of 70 and 0.007 mg/mL samples was minimal in comparison to the 0.7 mg/mL solution for both IgG molecules. These observations suggest that bulk concentration alone does not determine the degree of sheer thinning, and additional factors play a role. Additional data reveals, within a threshold range of concentrations, that a strong correlation exists between the degree of shear thinning and the surface area to volume (SA:V) ratio of an IgG sample exposed to the interface. The influence of the interface, however, diminishes when the bulk concentration falls outside this concentration window. Also revealed by interfacial oscillatory rheological testing, both IgG molecules showed solid-like behavior (G'i) at the air-water interface at 0.7 mg/mL, whereas liquid-like behavior (G″i) was dominant at 0.007 and 70 mg/mL concentrations. These observations imply that the lack of solid-like behavior was due to the absence of a network structure. Likewise the addition of polysorbate 20 (PS20) to the 0.7 mg/mL solutions decreased the degree of shear thinning by disrupting the network structure at the interface. Taken together, the results presented here suggest that, although shear thinning behavior is a manifestation of an interfacial, rather than a bulk, phenomenon, the extent of it depends on how susceptible the surface molecules are to the air-water interface, where the surface molecular structures are influenced by the bulk properties.

Distribution of silicone oil in prefilled glass syringes probed with optical and spectroscopic methods.

Prefilled glass syringes (PFSs) have become the most commonly used device for the delivery of recombinant protein therapeutics in parenteral formulations. In particular, auto-injectors preloaded with PFSs greatly facilitate the convenient and efficient self-administration of protein therapeutics by patients. Silicone oil is used as a lubricant in PFSs to facilitate the smooth motion of the plunger during injection. However, there have been few sophisticated analytical techniques that can qualitatively and quantitatively characterize in-situ the morphology, thickness, and distribution of silicone oil in PFSs. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of three optical techniques including confocal Raman microscopy, Schlieren optics, and thin film interference reflectometry to visualize and characterize silicone oil distribution in PFS. The results showed that a container coating process could produce unevenly distributed silicone oil on the glass barrel of PFSs. An insufficiency of the amount of silicone oil on the glass barrel of a PFS can cause stalling when the device is preloaded into an auto-injector. These analytical techniques can be applied to monitor the silicone oil distribution in PFSs.

Conformation and side chains environments of recombinant human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (rh-IL-1ra) probed by raman, raman optical activity, and UV-resonance Raman spectroscopy.

The conformation and local environments of the side chains cysteines and aromatics of recombinant human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (rh-IL-1ra) have been studied by visible Raman, Raman optical activity (ROA) and UVRR spectroscopy. The results reveal that the secondary structure of rh-IL-1ra is predominantly beta-sheet, which is consistent with conclusions from multinuclear NMR in solutions and X-ray diffraction analysis of crystals. It confirms that all four cysteines are in reduced state. Three cysteines are not hydrogen bonded and exposed. One cysteine is moderately hydrogen bonded and buried. This explains the earlier observation that only three cysteines were detectable using DTNB titration. No characteristic Raman band of disulfide bond was observed in the Raman spectra of rh-IL-1ra in both solution and in crystals. It rules out the supposition that there is one disulfide bond in rh-IL-1ra crystals based on X-ray diffraction. Raman and UVRR spectra of rh-IL-1ra exhibit canonical marker bands of tryptophan. They do not support the proposal that there is cation-pi interaction involving tryptophans in solutions and crystals. These results demonstrate that Raman spectroscopy offers certain advantages over X-ray diffraction for studies of detailed local environment and intermolecular interactions of side chains of proteins in solution and in crystals.

Root Cause Analysis of Tungsten-Induced Protein Aggregation in Pre-filled Syringes.

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.

Raman microscopic applications in the biopharmaceutical industry: in situ identification of foreign particulates inside glass containers with aqueous formulated solutions.

Particle identification is an important analytical procedure for quality control and assurance in the biopharmaceutical industry. Rapid and reliable identification of micro-particles helps in evaluating the nature of particle contamination and its consequences on the product quality regulated by internal and external standards. Raman microscopy is one of the microspectroscopic techniques that can be used to identify micro-particles with the advantage of in situ detection. In this paper we demonstrate that a visible laser Raman microscope was particularly useful to identify micro-particles that were inside glass containers such as glass syringes, vials, and test tubes, which are commonly used as containers for aqueous formulated drugs. The examples include the identifications of a droplet-like particle inside a pre-filled glass syringe, a fibrous particle inside a glass test tube, and a white particle inside a glass vial; all of these examples usually demand challenging or time-consuming sample manipulation for other techniques. The Raman microscopic technique was shown to be able to solve these challenging micro-particle identifications due to its ability to carry out detection in situ. Particularly in the example of micro-droplet identification, the Raman microscopic technique was the only choice for a fast and successful particle detection. For all three identifications, Raman in situ detection has significantly accelerated particle analysis and avoided potential sample secondary contamination or losses owing to none or minimal sample manipulation.

Tungsten-induced protein aggregation: solution behavior.

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.