Feasibility Study for the Fractionation of the Major Human Immunoglobulin G Subclasses Using Hydrophobic Interaction Membrane Chromatography

Release of an Encapsulated Peptide from Carbon Nanotubes Driven by Electric Fields: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Targeted drug delivery into cells has been of tremendous scientific interest, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be deemed as a promising material for the loading and unloading of drugs. One of the major challenges is the release of drugs from CNTs, which have a great potential well to trap molecules. By performing molecular dynamics simulations, this work attempts to study the releasing process of encapsulated protein/peptide molecules from CNTs in the presence of uniform electric fields. Zadaxin serves as a model for protein/peptide drugs. External electric fields can assist the peptide in overcoming the potential well during its release. It is found that successful release of the peptide depends on the pore width, the pore length, and the net charges on the peptide. The peptide is less likely to be released either from CNTs with a smaller pore diameter due to a deeper potential well of the tubes or from CNTs with a longer pore length due to a broader and deeper potential well. Peptides with more net charges are ideal for the releasing process driven by electric fields. This work can provide insights into the design of an optimal tube size for effective release of a given protein/peptide.

Understanding the relationship between biotherapeutic protein stability and solid-liquid interfacial shear in constant region mutants of IgG1 and IgG4

Relative stability of therapeutic antibody candidates is currently evaluated primarily through their response to thermal degradation, yet this technique is not always predictive of stability in manufacture, shipping, and storage. A rotating disk shear device is proposed that produces defined shear conditions at a known solid–liquid interface to measure stability in this environment. Five variants of IgG1 and IgG4 antibodies were created using combinations of two discrete triple amino acid sequence mutations denoted TM and YTE. Antibodies were ranked for stability based on shear device output (protein decay coefficient, PDC), and compared with accelerated thermal stability data and the melting temperature of the CH2 domain (T_m1) from differential scanning calorimetry to investigate technique complimentarity. Results suggest that the techniques are orthogonal, with thermal methods based on intramolecular interaction and shear device stability based on localized unfolding revealing less stable regions that drive aggregation. Molecular modeling shows the modifications’ effects on the antibody structures and indicates a possible role for Fc conformation and Fab-Fc docking in determining suspended protein stability. The data introduce the PDC value as an orthogonal stability indicator, complementary to traditional thermal methods, allowing lead antibody selection based on a more full understanding of process stability. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 103:437–444, 2014

Electrophoretic transport of biomolecules through carbon nanotube membranes

Electrophoretic transport of proteins across electrochemically oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) membranes has been investigated. A small charged protein, lysozyme, was successfully pumped across MWCNT membranes by an electric field while rejecting larger bovine serum albumin (BSA). Transport of lysozome was reduced by a factor of about 30 in comparison to bulk mobility and consistent with the prediction for hindered transport. Mobilities between 0.33 and 1.4 × 10(-9) m(2) V(-1) s(-1) were observed and are approximately 10-fold faster than comparable ordered nanoporous membranes and consistent with continuum models. For mixtures of BSA and lysozyme, complete rejection of BSA is seen with electrophoretic separations.