Evaluation of Structural, Biological, and Functional Similarity of Biosimilar Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor to its Reference Product.

PURPOSE: Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF; also known as filgrastim) is a growth factor used to induce production of granulocytes. As the first locally developed and approved biosimilar medicine of Turkey, Fraven® being a biosimilar of filgrastim has been ab initio manufactured from cell to finished product at two different production facilities. Comprehensive structural, biological and functional characterization studies were performed to compare Fraven® from two different production sites and its reference product Neupogen® sourced from Turkey. METHODS: Primary and higher-order protein structures were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, circular dichroism, and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Isoelectric focusing, SDS-Page, size exclusion chromatography, and related proteins analyses were used to compare impurities. In order to assess functional similarity, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was used. In vitro cell proliferation assay was also performed to show dose related drug response in NFS-60 cell line. RESULTS: Primary, secondary and tertiary structures of biosimilar Fraven® manufactured at both sites were found to be highly similar to the reference Neupogen®. Product related substances and impurities were also highly similar to the reference. Comparability of GCSF receptor binding affinities of each product was shown using the KD values of SPR analysis. In vitro cell proliferation similarity was also evaluated and proven by PLA. CONCLUSION: Based on the similarity assessment, despite being manufactured at two different production sites, biosimilar Fraven® is highly similar to the reference product Turkey originated Neupogen®.

Survey and qualification of internal standards for quantification by 1H NMR spectroscopy.

In quantitative NMR (qNMR) selection of an appropriate internal standard proves to be crucial. In this study, 25 candidate compounds considered to be potent internal standards were investigated with respect to the ability of providing unique signal chemical shifts, purity, solubility, and ease of use. The (1)H chemical shift (delta) values, assignments, multiplicities and number of protons (for each signal), appropriateness (as to be used as internal standards) in four different deuterated solvents (D(2)O, DMSO-d(6), CD(3)OD, CDCl(3)) were studied. Taking into account the properties of these 25 internal standards, the most versatile eight compounds (2,4,6-triiodophenol, 1,3,5-trichloro-2-nitrobenzene, 3,4,5-trichloropyridine, dimethyl terephthalate, 1,4-dinitrobenzene, 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid, maleic acid and fumaric acid) were qualified using both differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and NMR spectroscopy employing highly pure acetanilide as the reference standard. The data from these two methods were compared as well as utilized in the quality assessment of the compounds as internal standards. Finally, the selected internal standards were tested and evaluated in a real case of quantitative NMR analysis of a paracetamol pharmaceutical product.

Validation of a quantitative NMR method for suspected counterfeit products exemplified on determination of benzethonium chloride in grapefruit seed extracts.

A 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy method for quantitative determination of benzethonium chloride (BTC) as a constituent of grapefruit seed extract was developed. The method was validated, assessing its specificity, linearity, range, and precision, as well as accuracy, limit of quantification and robustness. The method includes quantification using an internal reference standard, 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene, and regarded as simple, rapid, and easy to implement. A commercial grapefruit seed extract was studied and the experiments were performed on spectrometers operating at two different fields, 300 and 600 MHz for proton frequencies, the former with a broad band (BB) probe and the latter equipped with both a BB probe and a CryoProbe. The concentration average for the product sample was 78.0, 77.8 and 78.4 mg/ml using the 300 BB probe, the 600MHz BB probe and CryoProbe, respectively. The standard deviation and relative standard deviation (R.S.D., in parenthesis) for the average concentrations was 0.2 (0.3%), 0.3 (0.4%) and 0.3mg/ml (0.4%), respectively.

NMR study on the hydroxy protons of the Lewis X and Lewis Y oligosaccharides.

The 1H NMR chemical shifts and NOEs of hydroxy protons in Lewis X trisaccharide, beta-D-Galp-(1-->4)[alpha-L-Fucp-(1-->3)]-beta-D-GlcpNAc, and Lewis Y tetrasaccharide, alpha-L-Fucp-(1-->2)-beta-D-Galp-(1-->4)[alpha-L-Fucp-(1-->3)]-beta-D-GlcpNAc, were obtained for 85% H2O/15% (CD3)2CO solutions. The OH-4 signal of Galp in Lewis X and OH-3, OH-4 signals of Galp, and OH-2 signal of Fucp linked to Galp in Lewis Y had chemical shifts which indicate reduced hydration due to their proximity to the hydrophobic face of the Fucp unit linked to GlcpNAc. The inter-residue NOEs involving the exchangeable NH and OH protons confirmed the stacking interaction between the Fucp linked to the GlcpNAc and the Galp residues in Lewis X and Lewis Y.

Ab initio and NMR studies on the effect of hydration on the chemical shift of hydroxy protons in carbohydrates using disaccharides and water/methanol/ethers as model systems.

Density functional theory (DFT) and Hartree-Fock (HF) quantum mechanical calculations have been performed on the disaccharides, [small beta]-l-Fucp-(1[rightward arrow]4)-[small alpha]-d-Galp-OMe, [small beta]-l-Fucp-(1[rightward arrow]4)-[small alpha]-d-Glcp-OMe, and [small beta]-l-Fucp-(1[rightward arrow]3)-[small alpha]-d-Glcp-OMe. The [capital Delta][small delta]-values (difference between the chemical shift in the disaccharide and the corresponding monosaccharide methyl glycoside) for the exchangeable hydroxy protons have been calculated and compared to experimental values previously measured by NMR spectroscopy for samples in aqueous solutions. The calculations performed on molecules in vacuum showed that hydroxy protons hydrogen bonded to the neighboring ring oxygens have large positive [capital Delta][small delta]-values, indicating that they are deshielded relative to those in the corresponding methyl glycoside. The NMR experiments showed instead that these hydroxy protons close to the neighboring ring oxygens were shielded. This discrepancy between calculated and experimental data was attributed to solvent effects, and this hypothesis has been confirmed in this work by monitoring the chemical shift of the hydroxy proton of methanol in water, ethers and water/ether solutions. Shielding of the hydroxy proton of methanol is observed for increased ether concentrations, whereas deshielding is observed for increased concentration of water. The shielding observed for hydroxy protons in disaccharides is a consequence of reduced hydration due to intermolecular hydrogen bonding or steric effects. In strongly hydrated systems such as carbohydrates, the hydration state of a hydroxy proton is the key factor determining the value of the chemical shift of its NMR signal, and the [capital Delta][small delta] will be a direct measure of the change in hydration state.

1H NMR studies of maltose, maltoheptaose, alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins, and complexes in aqueous solutions with hydroxy protons as structural probes.

The (1)H NMR chemical shifts, coupling constants, temperature coefficients, and exchange rates have been measured for the hydroxy protons of aqueous solutions of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins, maltose, and maltoheptaose. In cyclodextrins (CDs), the high chemical shift of the O(3)H signal and its small (3)J(OH,CH) value suggest that O(3)H is involved in a hydrogen bond. The small temperature coefficients and rate of exchange values of O(2)H and O(3)H confirm the involvement of O(3)H in hydrogen bonding and indicate that O(2)H is the hydrogen bond partner. In maltose, two distinct NMR signals with two different vicinal coupling constants are found for O(2')H. A cross-peak in the ROESY spectrum indicates chemical exchange between the O(2')H and O(3)H protons. The existence of two distinct NMR signals with different J values for O(2')H shows the influence of anomeric configuration on the O(2')H-O(3)H interaction. The effect of complexation with methyl benzoate, adamantane-1-carboxylic acid, adamantane-1-ol, and l- and d-tryptophane on the NMR spectra of the hydroxy protons of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins and of maltose has been investigated. No significant spectral changes were observed upon addition of methyl benzoate and adamantane-1-carboxylic acid. The addition of adamantane-1-ol resulted in an upfield shift and a strong broadening of the O(2)H signal from alpha-CD, and a small temperature coefficient was measured upon complexation. The O(2)H and O(3)H signals in beta-CD were broadened and shifted downfield upon addition of l- and d-tryptophane.