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Härdter N, Geidobler R, Presser I, Winter G. Microwave-Assisted Freeze-Drying: Impact of Microwave Radiation on the Quality of High-Concentration Antibody Formulations. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:2783. [PMID: 38140123 PMCID: PMC10747838 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15122783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Microwave-assisted freeze-drying (MFD) offers significant time savings compared to conventional freeze-drying (CFD). While a few studies have investigated the stability of biopharmaceuticals with low protein concentrations after MFD and storage, the impact of MFD on high-concentration monoclonal antibody (mAb) formulations remains unclear. In this study, we systematically examined the effect of protein concentration in MFD and assessed protein stability following MFD, CFD, and subsequent storage using seven protein formulations with various stabilizers and concentrations. We demonstrated that microwaves directly interact with the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), leading to decreased physical stability, specifically aggregation, in high-concentration antibody formulations. Furthermore, typically used sugar:protein ratios from CFD were insufficient for stabilizing mAbs when applying microwaves. We identified the intermediate drying phase as the most critical for particle formation, and cooling the samples provided some protection for the mAb. Our findings suggest that MFD technology may not be universally applicable to formulations well tested in CFD and could be particularly beneficial for formulations with low API concentrations requiring substantial amounts of glass-forming excipients, such as vaccines and RNA-based products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Härdter
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Raimund Geidobler
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, 88397 Biberach an der Riß, Germany
| | - Ingo Presser
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, 88397 Biberach an der Riß, Germany
| | - Gerhard Winter
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 81377 Munich, Germany
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Nwankwo CS, Okpomor EO, Dibagar N, Wodecki M, Zwierz W, Figiel A. Recent Developments in the Hybridization of the Freeze-Drying Technique in Food Dehydration: A Review on Chemical and Sensory Qualities. Foods 2023; 12:3437. [PMID: 37761146 PMCID: PMC10528370 DOI: 10.3390/foods12183437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Freeze-drying is an excellent method for dehydration due to its benefits, including increased shelf-life, unique texture, and, in particular, good nutritive quality. However, the applicability of traditional freeze-drying systems in the food industry is still challenging owing to their prolonged drying duration, extraordinary energy usage, and high process cost. Therefore, the need to upgrade or develop conventional freeze-dryers for common or sophisticated food structures is ever-increasing. Enhancements to the freeze-drying process can significantly speed up drying and reduce energy consumption while maintaining phytochemicals, physical quality, and sensory attributes in final products. To overcome the downsides of conventional freeze-drying, hybrid freeze-drying methods were introduced with a great potential to provide food products at shorter drying durations, lower costs, and environmental friendliness while resulting in the same nutritive and sensory qualities as that of conventional freeze-drying in special circumstances. An overview of the most current improvements, adaptations, and applications of hybrid freeze-drying in food dehydration is given here. In this review, comparative studies are offered to characterize the drying process from the standpoint of chemical quality and sensory attributes. All the reviewed studies confirmed that the nutritional and sensory qualities of the end product can be retained using hybrid freeze-drying almost to the same extent as using single freeze-drying. It was also inferred that hybrid freeze-drying can surpass conventional freeze-drying and allow for obtaining dried products with characteristics typical of raw material if operating parameters are optimized based on product quality and energy usage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chibuzo Stanley Nwankwo
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi P.M.B 2373, Nigeria;
| | - Endurance Oghogho Okpomor
- International Centre for Biotechnology (ICB) Under the Auspices of UNESCO, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410105, Nigeria;
| | - Nesa Dibagar
- Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland;
| | - Marta Wodecki
- Veterinary Clinic for Small Animals Leverkusen, 51381 Leverkusen, Germany;
| | - Wiktor Zwierz
- Water Science and Technology Institute—H2O SCITECH, 51-351 Wrocław, Poland;
| | - Adam Figiel
- Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland;
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Härdter N, Geidobler R, Presser I, Winter G. Accelerated Production of Biopharmaceuticals via Microwave-Assisted Freeze-Drying (MFD). Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15051342. [PMID: 37242584 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15051342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, attention has been drawn to microwave-assisted freeze-drying (MFD), as it drastically reduces the typically long drying times of biopharmaceuticals in conventional freeze-drying (CFD). Nevertheless, previously described prototype machines lack important attributes such as in-chamber freezing and stoppering, not allowing for the performance of representative vial freeze-drying processes. In this study, we present a new technical MFD setup, designed with GMP processes in mind. It is based on a standard lyophilizer equipped with flat semiconductor microwave modules. The idea was to enable the retrofitting of standard freeze-dryers with a microwave option, which would reduce the hurdles of implementation. We aimed to collect process data with respect to the speed, settings, and controllability of the MFD processes. Moreover, we studied the performance of six monoclonal antibody (mAb) formulations in terms of quality after drying and stability after storage for 6 months. We found drying processes to be drastically shortened and well controllable and observed no signs of plasma discharge. The characterization of the lyophilizates revealed an elegant cake appearance and remarkably good stability in the mAb after MFD. Furthermore, overall storage stability was good, even when residual moisture was increased due to high concentrations of glass-forming excipients. A direct comparison of stability data following MFD and CFD demonstrated similar stability profiles. We conclude that the new machine design is highly advantageous, enabling the fast-drying of excipient-dominated, low-concentrated mAb formulations in compliance with modern manufacturing technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Härdter
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Raimund Geidobler
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, 88397 Biberach an der Riß, Germany
| | - Ingo Presser
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, 88397 Biberach an der Riß, Germany
| | - Gerhard Winter
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 81377 Munich, Germany
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Mutukuri TT, Darwish A, Strongrich AD, Peroulis D, Alexeenko A, Zhou QT. Radio Frequency - Assisted Ultrasonic Spray Freeze Drying for Pharmaceutical Protein Solids. J Pharm Sci 2023; 112:40-50. [PMID: 36181875 PMCID: PMC9772299 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2022.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
This study examined physical stability of spray freeze dried (SFD) bovine serum albumin (BSA) solids produced using the radio frequency (RF)-assisted drying technique. BSA formulations were prepared with varying concentrations of trehalose and mannitol, using an excipient-free formulation as control. These formulations were produced using either traditional ultrasonic spray freeze drying (SFD) or RF-assisted ultrasonic spray freeze drying (RFSFD). The dried formulations were then characterized using Karl Fischer moisture content measurement, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and solid-state hydrogen/deuterium exchange with mass spectrometry (ssHDX-MS). Moisture content did not have a good correlation with the physical stability of the formulations measured by SEC. ssHDX-MS metrics such as deconvoluted peak areas of the deuterated samples showed a satisfactory correlation (R2 = 0.914) with the SEC stability data. RFSFD improved the stability of formulations with 20 mg/ml of trehalose and no mannitol, and had similar stability with all other formulations as compared to SFD. This study demonstrated that RFSFD technique can significantly reduce the duration of primary drying cycle from 48.0 h to 27.5 h while maintaining or improving protein physical stability as compared to traditional lyophilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarun Tejasvi Mutukuri
- Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Ahmad Darwish
- Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Andrew David Strongrich
- Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA; Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Dimitrios Peroulis
- Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA; Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Alina Alexeenko
- Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA; School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Qi Tony Zhou
- Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
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Abdelraheem A, Tukra R, Kazarin P, Sinanis MD, Topp EM, Alexeenko A, Peroulis D. Statistical electromagnetics for industrial pharmaceutical lyophilization. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac052. [PMID: 36741428 PMCID: PMC9896896 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Lyophilization is a common unit operation in pharmaceutical manufacturing but is a prolonged vacuum drying process with poor energy utilization. Microwave-assisted vacuum drying has been investigated to accelerate the lyophilization process. However, the literature lacks methodical approaches that consider the lyophilizer, the lyophilizate, the microwave power uniformity, the resulting heat uniformity, and the scalability. We present a microwave-vacuum drying method based on the statistical electromagnetics theory. The method offers an optimum frequency selection procedure that accounts for the lyophilizer and the lyophilizate. The 2.45 GHz frequency conventionally utilized is proven to be far from optimum. The method is applied in a microwave-assisted heating configuration to pharmaceutical excipients (sucrose and mannitol) and different myoglobin formulations in a lab-scale lyophilizer. At 18 GHz frequency and 60 W microwave power, the method shows nearly three times speed-up in the primary drying stage of sucrose relative to the conventional lyophilization cycle for typical laboratory batches. The uniformity of the microwave power inside the chamber is controlled within ± 1 dB. The resulting heating uniformity measured through residual moisture analysis shows 12.7% of normalized SD of moisture level across the batch in a microwave-assisted cycle as opposed to 15.3% in the conventional cycle. Conventional and microwave lyophilized formulations are characterized using solid-state hydrogen-deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (ssHDX-MS), solid-state Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ssFTIR), circular dichroism (CD), and accelerated stability testing (AST). Characterization shows comparable protein structure and stability. Heat and mass transfer simulations quantify further effects of optimal volumetric heating via the high-frequency statistical microwave heating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Abdelraheem
- Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 W State St, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA,School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, Electrical Engineering Building, 465, Northwestern Ave, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA,Electronic Engineering Department, Military Technical College, Al-Khalifa Al-Mamoon Street Kobry Elkobbah, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Rishabh Tukra
- Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 W State St, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA,Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmac, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, Heine (Robert E.) Pharmacy Bldg, 575 W Stadium Ave, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA
| | - Petr Kazarin
- Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 W State St, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA,School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, 701 W Stadium Ave, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA
| | - Michael D Sinanis
- Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 W State St, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA,School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, Electrical Engineering Building, 465, Northwestern Ave, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA
| | - Elizabeth M Topp
- Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 W State St, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA,Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmac, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, Heine (Robert E.) Pharmacy Bldg, 575 W Stadium Ave, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA,National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training, Blackrock, Co. Dublin A94 X099, Ireland
| | | | - Dimitrios Peroulis
- Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 W State St, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA,School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, Electrical Engineering Building, 465, Northwestern Ave, West Lafayette, 47907 IN, USA
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