Particles in Biopharmaceutical Formulations, Part 2: An Update on Analytical Techniques and Applications for Therapeutic Proteins, Viruses, Vaccines and Cells.

Particles in biopharmaceutical formulations remain a hot topic in drug product development. With new product classes emerging it is crucial to discriminate particulate active pharmaceutical ingredients from particulate impurities. Technical improvements, new analytical developments and emerging tools (e.g., machine learning tools) increase the amount of information generated for particles. For a proper interpretation and judgment of the generated data a thorough understanding of the measurement principle, suitable application fields and potential limitations and pitfalls is required. Our review provides a comprehensive overview of novel particle analysis techniques emerging in the last decade for particulate impurities in therapeutic protein formulations (protein-related, excipient-related and primary packaging material-related), as well as particulate biopharmaceutical formulations (virus particles, virus-like particles, lipid nanoparticles and cell-based medicinal products). In addition, we review the literature on applications, describe specific analytical approaches and illustrate advantages and drawbacks of currently available techniques for particulate biopharmaceutical formulations.

Flow imaging microscopy for protein particle analysis--a comparative evaluation of four different analytical instruments.

Flow imaging microscopy was introduced as a technique for protein particle analysis a few years ago and has strongly gained in importance ever since. The aim of the present study was a comparative evaluation of four of the most relevant flow imaging microscopy systems for biopharmaceuticals on the market: Micro-Flow Imaging (MFI)4100, MFI5200, Flow Cytometer And Microscope (FlowCAM) VS1, and FlowCAM PV. Polystyrene standards, particles generated from therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, and silicone oil droplets were analyzed by all systems. The performance was critically assessed regarding quantification, characterization, image quality, differentiation of protein particles and silicone oil droplets, and handling of the systems. The FlowCAM systems, especially the FlowCAM VS1, showed high-resolution images. The FlowCAM PV system provided the most precise quantification of particles of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, also under impaired optical conditions by an increased refractive index of the formulation. Furthermore, the most accurate differentiation of protein particles and silicone oil droplets could be achieved with this instrument. The MFI systems provided excellent size and count accuracy (evaluated with polystyrene standards) especially the MFI5200 system. This instrument also showed very good performance for protein particles, also in case of an increased refractive index of the formulation. Both MFI systems were easier to use and appeared more standardized regarding measurement and data analysis as compared to the FlowCAM systems. Our study shows that the selection of the appropriate flow imaging microscopy system depends strongly on the main output parameters of interest and it is recommended to decide based on the intended application.

How subvisible particles become invisible-relevance of the refractive index for protein particle analysis.

The aim of the present study was to quantitatively assess the relevance of transparency and refractive index (RI) on protein particle analysis by the light-based techniques light obscuration (LO) and Micro-Flow Imaging (MFI). A novel method for determining the RI of protein particles was developed and provided an RI of 1.41 for protein particles from two different proteins. An increased RI of the formulation by high protein concentration and/or sugars at pharmaceutically relevant levels was shown to lead to a significant underestimation of the subvisible particle concentration determined by LO and MFI. An RI match even caused particles to become "invisible" for the system, that is, not detectable anymore by LO and MFI. To determine the influence of formulation RI on particle measurements, we suggest the use of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles to test a specific formulation for RI effects. In case of RI influences, we recommend also using a light-independent technique such as resonant mass measurement (RMM) (Archimedes) for subvisible particle analysis in protein formulations.

Micro-flow imaging and resonant mass measurement (Archimedes)--complementary methods to quantitatively differentiate protein particles and silicone oil droplets.

Our study aimed to comparatively evaluate Micro-Flow Imaging (MFI) and the recently introduced technique of resonant mass measurement (Archimedes, RMM) as orthogonal methods for the quantitative differentiation of silicone oil droplets and protein particles. This distinction in the submicron and micron size range is highly relevant for the development of biopharmaceuticals, in particular for products in prefilled syringes. Samples of artificially generated silicone oil droplets and protein particles were quantified individually and in defined mixtures to assess the performance of the two techniques. The built-in MFI software solution proved to be suitable to discriminate between droplets and particles for sizes above 2 µm at moderate droplet/particle ratios (70:30-30:70). A customized filter developed specifically for this study greatly improved the results and enabled reliable discrimination also for more extreme mixing ratios (95:5-15:85). RMM showed highly accurate discrimination in the size range of about 0.5-2 µm independent of the ratio, provided that a sufficient number of particles (>50 counted particles) were counted. We recommend applying both techniques for a comprehensive analysis of biotherapeutics potentially containing silicone oil droplets and protein particles in the submicron and micron size range.

Particles in therapeutic protein formulations, Part 1: overview of analytical methods.

The presence of particles is a major issue during therapeutic protein formulation development. Both proteinaceous and nonproteinaceous particles need to be analyzed not only due to the requirements of the Pharmacopeias but also to monitor the stability of the protein formulation. Increasing concerns about the immunogenic potential together with new developments in particle analysis make a comparative description of established and novel analytical methods useful. Our review aims to provide a comprehensive overview on analytical methods for the detection and characterization of visible and subvisible particles in therapeutic protein formulations. We describe the underlying theory, benefits, shortcomings, and illustrative examples for quantification techniques, as well as characterization techniques for particle shape, morphology, structure, and identity.