Molecular size distribution assessment of Haemophilus influenzae vaccine containing lactose by HPAEC-PAD and colorimetric assays.

Molecular size distribution of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine is an important indicator for its immunogenicity and stability. Molecular size distribution was evaluated by High-Performance Protein Chromatography on Sepharose CL-4B column, and fractions were pooled. The use of high flow rate, incorporation of a calibration standard with the injected buffer and pooling method yielded a superior assay compared to conventional pharmacopeial method. The pools were analyzed for determination of distribution coefficient (KD) of 0.2 and 0.5 using two validated techniques: High Performance Anion Exchange Chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) for ribitol determination and an optimized colorimetric assay for phosphorus determination. Linearity was achieved over range of 0.10-10.0 µg/mL and 1.0-8.0 µg/mL with LOD of 0.03 and 0.28 µg/mL for HPAEC and colorimetric assays, respectively. The developed assays were successfully applied in quality control monitoring of Hib conjugate vaccine. The optimized colorimetric method had shortened the analysis time to 25 min compared to 3.5 h for the European pharmacopeial assay by modifying the burning process. HPAEC stability results revealed 40% decrease in MSD after stressed storage conditions. The proposed assays offer a reliable and economic platform for monitoring the quality attributes of Hib for biopharma industry.

Facile imprinted polymer for label-free highly selective potentiometric sensing of proteins: case of recombinant human erythropoietin.

In the current study, a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-based potentiometric sensor was fabricated for a label-free determination of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO). The MIP sensor was operated under zero current conditions using tetra-butyl ammonium bromide as a marker ion. A highly ordered rhEPO surface imprinted layer was prepared using 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane as a monomer and cross-linker, respectively, under mild reaction conditions. A two-fold increase in the signal output was obtained by polymeric surface minimization (0.5 mm) that allowed more pronounced molecular recognition (imprinting factor = 20.1). The proportion of cross-reactivity was examined using different interfering biomolecules. Results confirmed sensor specificity for both structurally related and unrelated proteins. An ~40% decrease in the response was obtained for rhEPO-ß compared to rhEPO-α. The imprinted polymeric surface was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Under the optimal measurement conditions, a linear range of 10.00-1000.00 ng mL-1 (10-10 - 10-8 M) was obtained. The sensor was employed for the determination of rhEPO in different biopharmaceutical formulations. Results were validated against standard immunoassay. Spiked human serum samples were analyzed and the assay was validated. The presence of non-specific proteins did not significantly affect (~8%) the results of our assay. A concentration-dependent linear response was produced in an identical range with detection limit as low as 6.50 ng mL-1 (2.14 × 10-10 M). The facile fabricated MIP sensor offers a cost-effective, portable, and easy to use alternative for biosimilarity assessment and clinical application.

High performance anion exchange chromatographic and colorimetric methods for quality assessment of total and free polysaccharide content in Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine containing lactose.

The presence of lactose as a stabilizer in Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine is a challenge for chromatographic resolution of its total and free poly ribosyl ribitol phosphate (PRP) content. Sample pretreatment using ultrafiltration was performed and had removed ≥95% of lactose in shorter time compared to the conventional dialysis process. Separation of free unconjugated PRP was performed using solid-phase extraction C4 cartridges. Hib conjugate vaccine was then analyzed for determination of total and free PRP, using two validated techniques: high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometry (HPAEC-PAD) for ribitol determination and a colorimetric assay for phosphorus determination. Lactose removal had enabled a rapid chromatographic assay via fast depolymerization of PRP using high temperature treatment. Modifying the burning process in the colorimetric assay reduced the analysis time significantly compared to the pharmacopoeial method. Linearity was obtained over the range of 0.10-10.0 µg mL-1 for the HPAEC method and in the range of 1.0-8.0 µg mL-1 for the colorimetric one. Stability of Hib conjugate vaccine was investigated. The HPAEC results revealed about a 35% increase in free PRP content after storage under stressed conditions (moisture and temperature). The proposed methods offered a reliable and economic platform for assessing the immunogenicity, efficacy and stability of Hib conjugate vaccine containing lactose for the biopharmaceutical industry.

Validated Smart Different Chromatographic Methods for Selective Quantification of Acefylline Piperazine, Phenobarbital Sodium and Methylparaben Additive in Bulk and Pharmaceutical Dosage Form.

Two chromatographic methods have been proposed for the simultaneous determination of acefylline piperazine (ACEF) and phenobarbital (PHENO) in presence of methylparaben as additive in pharmaceutical dosage form. The first method was thin-layer chromatography. The separation was achieved using silica gel as stationary phase and chloroform: methanol: glacial acetic acid (2.0, 8.0 and 0.1, by volume) as a developing system at 254 nm. Accurate determination of both drugs was attained over the concentration range of 0.5-25 µg/band. The second method was based on the use of reversed phase liquid chromatography with diode array detection, by which the proposed components were separated on a reversed phase C18 analytical column using methanol: water (60: 40, by volume) as a mobile phase with flow rate of 0.8 mL/min at 214 nm in a concentration range of 0.5-100 µg/mL. The proposed chromatographic methods were practiced successfully for the determination of ACEF and PHENO in pharmaceutical dosage form. Both methods were validated according to the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and statistically compared with a reported high-performance liquid chromatograph method. Planar chromatography has never been proposed in the literature for ACEF and PHENO determination besides the proposed columnar chromatographic method using an isocratic eco-friendly mobile phase.

Preparation and characterization of 96-well microplates coated with molecularly imprinted polymer for determination and biosimilarity assessment of recombinant human erythropoietin.

Synthesis and applications of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) are rapidly growing. In this study, a biomimetic MIP was prepared through silanes polymerization on the surface of 96-well microplates using recombinant human erythropoietin-alfa (rhEPO) as a template molecule. The rhEPO was immobilized onto the plate surface using bi-functional cross-linker and a thin imprinted layer following sol-gel procedure was constructed. After template extraction, uniform three-dimensional cavities compatible with the configuration of rhEPO were obtained. The rhEPO-MIP preparation was optimized using 2-level factorial design and response surface design where polymerization time and interactions between the different variable were found to be the most significant factors. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) was used to monitor the stability of the rhEPO under the investigated polymerization conditions. Determination of rhEPO using the MIP microplate showed good dynamic response fitting to the 4 PL regression model (0.9962) over a concentration range of 10.00 - 100.00 ng mL-1. Adsorption of rhEPO onto MIP followed the Langmuir isotherm model (r = 0.9957, χ2 =0.02786) with pseudo-second-order kinetics (r = 0.9984). The surface of the rhEPO-MIP was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while step-by-step surface modification was tracked using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The rhEPO-MIP was able to distinguish between the rhEPO-alfa template and modified rhEPO molecules; rhEPO-beta, hyperglycosylated and pegylated forms (imprinting factors < 2) and in the commonly used formulation additive human serum albumin (HSA) (R% = 113.96 -95.22%). The rhEPO-MIP was applied to compare the receptor-binding pattern to rhEPO and its biosimilars / structural analogues. The results were cross-validated using the conventional assay protocol (RP-HPLC and ELISA) and an acceptable correlation was observed with RP-HPLC (maximum deviation is 7.78%). This work confirmed the applicability of rhEPO-MIP with its unique binding features for batch release, stability and biosimilarity assessment as well as subsequent evaluation of batch-to-batch consistency during bioproduction of target analytes.

Application of derivative, derivative ratio, and multivariate spectral analysis and thin-layer chomatography-densitometry for determination of a ternary mixture containing drotaverine hydrochloride, caffeine, and paracetamol.

New selective, precise, and accurate methods are described for the determination of a ternary mixture containing drotaverine hydrochloride (I), caffeine (II), and paracetamol (III). The first method uses the first (D1) and third (D3) derivative spectrophotometry at 331 and 315 nm for the determination of (I) and (III), respectively, without interference from (II). The second method depends on the simultaneous use of the first derivative of the ratio spectra (DD1) with measurement at 312.4 nm for determination of (I) using the spectrum of 40 microg/mL (III) as a divisor or measurement at 286.4 and 304 nm after using the spectrum of 4 microg/mL (I) as a divisor for the determination of (II) and (III), respectively. In the third method, the predictive abilities of the classical least-squares, principal component regression, and partial least-squares were examined for the simultaneous determination of the ternary mixture. The last method depends on thin-layer chromatography-densitometry after separation of the mixture on silica gel plates using ethyl acetate-chloroform-methanol (16 + 3 + 1, v/v/v) as the mobile phase. The spots were scanned at 281, 272, and 248 nm for the determination of (I), (II), and (III), respectively. Regression analysis showed good correlation in the selected ranges with excellent percentage recoveries. The chemical variables affecting the analytical performance of the methodology were studied and optimized. The methods showed no significant interferences from excipients. Intraday and interday assay precision and accuracy values were within regulatory limits. The suggested procedures were checked using laboratory-prepared mixtures and were successfully applied for the analysis of their pharmaceutical preparations. The validity of the proposed methods was further assessed by applying a standard addition technique. The results obtained by applying the proposed methods were statistically analyzed and compared with those obtained by the manufacturer's method.

Preparation and characterization of pH-responsive polyacrylamide molecularly imprinted polymer: Application to isolation of recombinant and wild type human serum albumin from biological sources.

In this work pH-responsive neutral and cationic polyacrylamide molecularly imprinted polymers (nMIP and cMIP, respectively) were prepared for separation of recombinant and wild type human serum albumin (HSA, pI 4.7) using mixture of polymerization initiators. The effect of pH during preparation and adsorption stages at pI(HSA)±2.0 on binding capacity and selectivity; imprinting factor (IF) was thoroughly investigated. SE-HPLC and RP-HPLC were employed for thorough evaluation of the stability of HSA at the studied experimental conditions and for simultaneous determination of HSA and erythropoietin (EPO) in their mixtures, respectively. Results showed that nMIP were generally superior to cMIP, where nMIP prepared at pH 2.7 and tested at pH 6.7 showed superior binding characteristics (IF 42.91). The pH at the preparation stage imposed minimal effect on the stability of HSA owing to entrapment of HSA within the polymer network. Adsorption experiments carried out at pH 2.7, regardless of polymer type and pH of preparation revealed poor selectivity. Adsorption of HSA onto MIP followed Sips model with pseudo second-order kinetics. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a rough surface for MIP and a smooth one with wider pore diameter for non-imprinted polymer (NIP). Successful separation of recombinant HSA from its binary mixture with EPO and wild type HSA from crude plasma was demonstrated using RP-HPLC. This suggested that MIP should be applicable for downstream purification of therapeutic grade HSA at scale either from plasma or recombinant sources and isolation of HSA from plasma for diagnostic purposes.

Spectrophotometric study of etodolac complexes with copper (II) and iron (III).

A rapid, simple, and selective method was developed for the determination of etodolac. The method depends on complexation of etodolac with copper (II) acetate and iron (III) chloride followed by extraction of complexes with dichloromethane and then measuring the extracted complexes spectrophotometrically at 684 and 385 nm in case of Cu (II) or Fe (III), respectively. Different factors affecting the reaction, such as pH, reagent concentration, and time, were studied. By use of Job's method of continuous variation, the molar ratio method, and elemental analysis, the stoichiometry of the reaction was found to be in the ratio of 1:2 and 1:3, metal:drug in the case of Cu (II) and Fe (III), respectively. The method obeys Beer's law in a concentration range of 2.00-9.00 and 0.50-2.00 mg/mL in case of Cu (II) and Fe (III), respectively. The stability of the complexes formed was also studied, and the reaction products were isolated for further investigation. The complexes have apparent molar absorptivities of about 32.14 +/- 0.97 and 168.32 +/- 1.12 for Cu (II) and Fe (III), respectively. The suggested procedures were successfully applied to the analysis of pure etodolac and its pharmaceutical formulations. The validity of the procedures was further ascertained by the method of standard additions, and the results were compared with other reported spectrophotometric methods and showed no significant difference in accuracy and precision.

Simultaneous determination of terbinafine HCL and triamcinolone acetonide by UV derivative spectrophotometry and spectrodensitometry.

A binary mixture of terbinafine hydrochloride and triamcinolone acetonide was determined by three different methods. The first one concerned with determination of both drugs using first derivative (D(1)) spectrophotometric technique at 297 and 274 nm over concentration ranges of 5-30 and 4-24 microg ml(-1), with mean percentage accuracies 99.90+/-0.67 and 100.25+/-0.49, respectively. The second method depends on ratio-spectra 1st derivative (RSD(1)) spectrophotometry at 298 and 248 nm over the same concentration ranges with mean percentage accuracies 100.22+/-0.51 and 99.93+/-0.56, respectively. The spectrodensitometric analysis provides a rapid and precise method for the separation and quantitation of both terbinafine hydrochloride and triamcinolone acetonide. The method depends on the quantitative densitometric evaluation of thin layer chromatogram of terbinafine hydrochloride and triamcinolone acetonide at 283 and 238 nm over concentration ranges of 5-25 and 2.5-22.5 microg spot(-1), with mean percentage accuracies 100.66+/-0.51 and 100.27+/-0.73, respectively. The suggested procedures were checked using laboratory prepared mixtures and were successfully applied for the analysis of their pharmaceutical preparations. The three methods retained their accuracy and precision when applying the standard addition technique. The results obtained by applying the proposed methods were statistically analysed and compared with those obtained by a reported method.