Development of an icIEF assay for monitoring AAV capsid proteins and application to gene therapy products.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy vectors, which contain a DNA transgene packaged into a protein capsid, have shown tremendous therapeutic potential in recent years. Methods traditionally used in quality control labs, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE), do not provide a complete understanding of capsid viral protein (VP) charge heterogeneity. In the present study, we developed simple, one-step sample preparation and charge-based VP separation using imaged capillary isoelectric focusing (icIEF) for monitoring AAV products. The robustness of the method was confirmed through a design of experiments (DoE) exercise. An orthogonal reverse-phase (RP) HPLC method coupled with mass spectrometry was developed to separate and identify charge species. Additionally, capsid point mutants demonstrate the capability of the method to resolve deamidation at a single site on the viral proteins. Finally, case studies using two different AAV serotype vectors establish the icIEF method as stability indicating and demonstrate that increases in acidic species measured by icIEF correlate with increased deamidation, which, we show, results in decreased transduction efficiency. The addition of a rapid and robust icIEF method to the AAV capsid analytical toolkit enables development and consistent manufacturing of well-characterized gene therapy products.

Charge heterogeneity profiling of monoclonal antibodies using low ionic strength ion-exchange chromatography and well-controlled pH gradients on monolithic columns.

In this work, the suitability of employing shallow pH gradients generated using single component buffer systems as eluents through cation-exchange (CEX) monolithic columns is demonstrated for the high-resolution separation of monoclonal antibody (mAb) charge variants in three different biopharmaceuticals. A useful selection of small molecule buffer species is described that can be used within very narrow pH ranges (typically 1 pH unit) defined by their buffer capacity for producing controlled and smooth pH profiles when used together with porous polymer monoliths. Using very low ionic strength eluents also enabled direct coupling with electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. The results obtained by the developed pH gradient approach for the separation of closely related antibody species appear to be consistent with those obtained by imaged capillary isoelectric focusing (iCE) in terms of both resolution and separation profile. Both determinants of resolution, i.e., peak compression and peak separation contribute to the gains in resolution, evidently through the Donnan potential effect, which is increased by decreasing the eluent concentration, and also through the way electrostatic charges are distributed on the protein surface. Retention mechanisms based on the trends observed in retention of proteins at pH values higher than the electrophoretic pI are also discussed using applicable theories. Employing monolithic ion-exchangers is shown to enable fast method development, short analysis time, and high sample throughput owing to the accelerated mass transport of the monolithic media. The possibility of short analysis time, typically less than 15 min, and high sample throughput is extremely useful in the assessment of charge-based changes to the mAb products, such as during manufacturing or storage.

Characterization of monoclonal antibodies using polymeric cation exchange monoliths in combination with salt and pH gradients.

The characterization of three different mAb formulations of pharmaceutical interest is demonstrated using cation exchange polymethacrylate-based monolithic columns as well as imaged CE (iCE). Elution of the mAbs from both a strong cation exchanger (ProSwift SCX-1S) and a weak cation exchanger (ProSwift WCX-1S) was readily achieved employing a linear salt gradient or a mixed buffer pH gradient indicating that either approach can be used in purification or isolation. Using a linear salt gradient, the elution profile on the two types of exchangers was found to differ indicating that the combination of both strong and weak ion exchangers is needed for complete characterization. The elution profile of two of the mAbs on the strong cation exchanger used in combination with a linear pH gradient from pH 4 to 10 showed signs of charge heterogeneity. The use of iCE was found to be the best choice for characterization of charge heterogeneity, showing a clear charge distribution for all three mAbs.

Analysis of charge heterogeneities in mAbs using imaged CE.

An analytical method using the imaged CE (iCE) technology has been developed and validated for measuring contents of charge variants for mAb molecules. The method could generate similar information that require both conventional IEF electrophoresis and ion exchange liquid chromatography to generate as an iCE analysis would produce both the pI of the molecules and quantitative contents of charge variants. Thus, it offers unique advantages over the IEF and ion exchange methods in terms of identification, separation and quantitation of charge variants. The data presented in this study demonstrated that the iCE method is suitable not only for research purposes but also for quality control purpose of mAb clinical or commercial manufacture as the technique can be validated and possesses sufficient robustness. The developed generic iCE method has been tested for a wide range of therapeutic mAbs and proved its suitability for multiple mAb molecules. The tested mAbs are a group of molecules with a wide range of charge compositions (acidic species ranging from 10 to 70%) and a diverse range of pI of 6.9-9.6. Developing platform analytical technologies is an efficient way to meet the demand of rapid growth of therapeutic mAb candidates under clinical and preclinical development. The iCE technology is a good candidate to become a platform method as it could cover a broad range of pH gradient. The experiences learned during the developmental process would provide important and valuable information to the biotech industry for the evaluation of charge heterogeneity of mAbs in terms of release testing, characterization, stability study, process development support and comparability study.