Critical aspects on traditional antivenom production processes and their optimization by factorial analysis.

Most antivenoms are produced by techniques developed over 50 years ago, with minor modifications. Herein we revise the core of traditional antivenom production processes aiming to optimize key determinants for both consistent antivenom production and the best balance between F(ab')2 quality and recovery. Factorial design analysis revealed that pepsin digestion of 1:3 saline diluted equine plasma for 60 min under pH: 3.20, 37 °C temperature and a 1:15 pepsin to protein ratio conditions, allowed to achieve maximal IgG to F(ab')2 conversion with minimal protein aggregate formation. Further downstream processing by salting out with ammonium sulfate was also studied by factorial analysis. The influence of ammonium sulfate (AS) concentration, temperature (T) and the albumin to total plasma protein ratio plasma (Alb:P) were assayed, revealing that both AS, T and their interaction have a significant impact in F(ab')2 quality and recovery. Taking into account the existing compromise between F(ab')2 monomer recovery and quality two alternative conditions were selected: 14 g/dl AS at 56 °C and, alternatively 16 g/dl AS at 30 °C. Reasonable yields (42%) and product quality (2.5% of aggregates) without significant changes in production cost of traditional methodologies was achieved under the optimized conditions found.

Photoinactivation of tyrosinase sensitized by folic acid photoproducts.

Tyrosinase catalyzes in mammals the first and rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the melanin, the main pigment of the skin. Pterins, heterocyclic compounds able to photoinduce oxidation of biomolecules, accumulate in the skin of patients suffering from vitiligo, where there is a lack of melanin. Folic acid (PteGlu) is a conjugated pterin widespread in biological systems. Aqueous solutions of tyrosinase were exposed to UV-A irradiation (350nm) in the presence of PteGlu and its photoproducts (6-formylpterin and 6-carboxypterin). The reactions were followed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, enzyme activity measurement, fluorescence spectroscopy and HPLC. In this work, we present data that demonstrate unequivocally that solutions of tyrosinase exposed to UV-A irradiation in the presence of PteGlu, undergo enzyme inactivation. However, PteGlu itself causes a negligible effect on the activity of the enzyme. In contrast, PteGlu photoproducts are efficient photosensitizers. The tyrosinase inactivation involves two different pathways: (i) a photosensitization process and (ii) the oxidation of the enzyme by the hydrogen peroxide produced during the photooxidation of PteGlu and its photoproduct. The former pathway affects both the active site and the tryptophan residues, whereas the latter affects only the active site. The biological implications of the results are discussed.

Chemical changes in bovine serum albumin photoinduced by pterin.

The exposure to UV-A radiation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aerated aqueous solution in the presence of pterin (Ptr), results in chemical and conformational modifications of the protein. Ptr belongs to a family of heterocyclic compounds that are well-known type I (electron-transfer) and type II (singlet oxygen) photosensitizers. The evolution of the photosensitized processes was followed by UV/vis spectrophotometry and fluorescence spectroscopy indicating that tryptophan (Trp) and tyrosine (Tyr) residues were affected. Additionally, conformational changes were evaluated by electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and size exclusion chromatography coupled with dynamic light scattering detection, showing that BSA undergoes dimerization, via the formation of Tyr radicals. The degradation of Trp residues takes place faster than the oligomerization of the protein. The photosensitized process is initiated by an electron transfer from BSA to the triplet excited stated of Ptr, being a purely dynamic mechanism.