Selective Plate-Based Assay for Trace EDTA Analysis via Boron Trifluoride-methanol Derivatization UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS Enabling Biologic and Vaccine Processes

Digitally Enabled Generic Analytical Framework Accelerating the Pace of Liquid Chromatography Method Development for Vaccine Adjuvant Formulations

The growing use of adjuvants in the fast-paced formulation of new vaccines has created an unprecedented need for meaningful analytical assays that deliver reliable quantitative data from complex adjuvant and adjuvant-antigen mixtures. Due to their complex chemical and physical properties, method development for the separation of vaccine adjuvants is considered a highly challenging and laborious task. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) is among the most important tests in the (bio)pharmaceutical industry for release and stability indicating measurements including adjuvant content, identity, and purity profile. However, the time constraints of developing "on-demand" robust quantitative methods prior to each change in formulation can easily lead to sample analysis becoming a bottleneck in vaccine development. Herein, a simple and efficient generic analytical framework capable of chromatographically resolving the most commonly used non-aluminum-based adjuvants across academic and industrial sectors is introduced. This was designed to seek a more proactive approach for fast-paced assay development endeavors that evolved from extensive stationary phase screening in conjunction with multifactorial in silico simulations of adjuvant retention time (RT) as a function of gradient time, temperature, organic modifier blending, and buffer concentration. The multifactorial retention models yield 3D resolution maps with excellent baseline separation of all adjuvants in a single run, which was found to be very accurate, with differences between experimental and simulated retention times of less than 1%. The analytical framework described here also includes the introduction of a more versatile approach to method development by introducing a dynamic RT database for adjuvants covering the entire library of adjuvants with broad mechanisms of action across numerous vaccine formulations with excellent linearity, accuracy, precision, and specificity. The power of this framework was also demonstrated with numerous analytical assays that can be generated rapidly from simulations guiding vaccine processes in the development of new adjuvant formulations. Analytical assay in this work covers content, purity profile by LC with diode array detector (DAD) and charged aerosol detector (CAD), and component identification by LC with mass spectrometry (MS) across complex vaccine formulations, including the use of surfactants (e.g., polysorbates) as well as their separation from adjuvant targets.

Automated ion exchange chromatography screening combined with in silico multifactorial simulation for efficient method development and purification of biopharmaceutical targets

Bioprocess development of increasingly challenging therapeutics and vaccines requires a commensurate level of analytical innovation to deliver critical assays across functional areas. Chromatography hyphenated to numerous choices of detection has undeniably been the preferred analytical tool in the pharmaceutical industry for decades to analyze and isolate targets (e.g., APIs, intermediates, and byproducts) from multicomponent mixtures. Among many techniques, ion exchange chromatography (IEX) is widely used for the analysis and purification of biopharmaceuticals due to its unique selectivity that delivers distinctive chromatographic profiles compared to other separation modes (e.g., RPLC, HILIC, and SFC) without denaturing protein targets upon isolation process. However, IEX method development is still considered one of the most challenging and laborious approaches due to the many variables involved such as elution mechanism (via salt, pH, or salt-mediated-pH gradients), stationary phase's properties (positively or negatively charged; strong or weak ion exchanger), buffer type and ionic strength as well as pH choices. Herein, we introduce a new framework consisting of a multicolumn IEX screening in conjunction with computer-assisted simulation for efficient method development and purification of biopharmaceuticals. The screening component integrates a total of 12 different columns and 24 mobile phases that are sequentially operated in a straightforward automated fashion for both cation and anion exchange modes (CEX and AEX, respectively). Optimal and robust operating conditions are achieved via computer-assisted simulation using readily available software (ACD Laboratories/LC Simulator), showcasing differences between experimental and simulated retention times of less than 0.5%. In addition, automated fraction collection is also incorporated into this framework, illustrating the practicality and ease of use in the context of separation, analysis, and purification of nucleotides, peptides, and proteins. Finally, we provide examples of the use of this IEX screening as a framework to identify efficient first dimension (¹D) conditions that are combined with MS-friendly RPLC conditions in the second dimension (²D) for two-dimensional liquid chromatography experiments enabling purity analysis and identification of pharmaceutical targets.