1
|
Rosa SS, Zhang S, Sari Y, Marques MPC. A (RP)UHPLC/UV analytical method to quantify dsRNA during the mRNA vaccine manufacturing process. ANALYTICAL METHODS : ADVANCING METHODS AND APPLICATIONS 2024; 16:5146-5153. [PMID: 39011770 PMCID: PMC11293613 DOI: 10.1039/d4ay00560k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
dsRNA is a product related impurity produced during the mRNA manufacturing process. The established immuno-based detection methods lack the flexibility and speed required to be applied throughout the manufacturing process. The RP-HPLC method developed outperforms these in terms of precision, broader detection range, LOD and LOQ, as well as in output variance. Using this method, dsRNA can be quantified in under 30 min for a single sample.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Sousa Rosa
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gordon Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
- Department of Bioengineering, iBB-Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- Associate Laboratory i4HB-Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Shuran Zhang
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gordon Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Yustika Sari
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gordon Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Marco P C Marques
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gordon Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
De Peña AC, Zimmer D, Gutterman-Johns E, Chen NM, Tripathi A, Bailey-Hytholt CM. Electrophoretic Microfluidic Characterization of mRNA- and pDNA-Loaded Lipid Nanoparticles. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:26984-26997. [PMID: 38753459 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c00208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are clinically advanced nonviral gene delivery vehicles with a demonstrated ability to address viral, oncological, and genetic diseases. However, the further development of LNP therapies requires rapid analytical techniques to support their development and manufacturing. The method developed and described in this paper presents an approach to rapidly and accurately analyze LNPs for optimized therapeutic loading by utilizing an electrophoresis microfluidic platform to analyze the composition of LNPs with different clinical lipid compositions (Onpattro, Comirnaty, and Spikevax) and nucleic acid (plasmid DNA (pDNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA)) formulations. This method enables the high-throughput screening of LNPs using a 96- or 384-well plate with approximate times of 2-4 min per sample using a total volume of 11 μL. The lipid analysis requires concentrations approximately between 109 and 1010 particles/mL and has an average precision error of 10.4% and a prediction error of 19.1% when compared to using a NanoSight, while the nucleic acid analysis requires low concentrations of 1.17 ng/μL for pDNA and 0.17 ng/μL for mRNA and has an average precision error of 4.8% and a prediction error of 9.4% when compared to using a PicoGreen and RiboGreen assay. In addition, our method quantifies the relative concentration of nucleic acid per LNP. Utilizing this approach, we observed an average of 263 ± 62.2 mRNA per LNP and 126.3 ± 21.2 pDNA per LNP for the LNP formulations used in this study, where the accuracy of these estimations is dependent on reference standards. We foresee the utility of this technique in the high-throughput characterization of LNPs during manufacturing and formulation research and development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Coll De Peña
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States
| | - Daniel Zimmer
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts 01609, United States
| | - Everett Gutterman-Johns
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States
| | - Nicole M Chen
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States
| | - Anubhav Tripathi
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States
| | - Christina M Bailey-Hytholt
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts 01609, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Buckland B, Sanyal G, Ranheim T, Pollard D, Searles JA, Behrens S, Pluschkell S, Josefsberg J, Roberts CJ. Vaccine process technology-A decade of progress. Biotechnol Bioeng 2024. [PMID: 38711222 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28703] [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: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
In the past decade, new approaches to the discovery and development of vaccines have transformed the field. Advances during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the production of billions of vaccine doses per year using novel platforms such as messenger RNA and viral vectors. Improvements in the analytical toolbox, equipment, and bioprocess technology have made it possible to achieve both unprecedented speed in vaccine development and scale of vaccine manufacturing. Macromolecular structure-function characterization technologies, combined with improved modeling and data analysis, enable quantitative evaluation of vaccine formulations at single-particle resolution and guided design of vaccine drug substances and drug products. These advances play a major role in precise assessment of critical quality attributes of vaccines delivered by newer platforms. Innovations in label-free and immunoassay technologies aid in the characterization of antigenic sites and the development of robust in vitro potency assays. These methods, along with molecular techniques such as next-generation sequencing, will accelerate characterization and release of vaccines delivered by all platforms. Process analytical technologies for real-time monitoring and optimization of process steps enable the implementation of quality-by-design principles and faster release of vaccine products. In the next decade, the field of vaccine discovery and development will continue to advance, bringing together new technologies, methods, and platforms to improve human health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Barry Buckland
- National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Gautam Sanyal
- Vaccine Analytics, LLC, Kendall Park, New Jersey, USA
| | - Todd Ranheim
- Advanced Analytics Core, Resilience, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - David Pollard
- Sartorius, Corporate Research, Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Sue Behrens
- Engineering and Biopharmaceutical Processing, Keck Graduate Institute, Claremont, California, USA
| | - Stefanie Pluschkell
- National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Jessica Josefsberg
- Merck & Co., Inc., Process Research & Development, Rahway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Christopher J Roberts
- National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Coll De Peña A, Vaduva M, Li NS, Shah S, Ben Frej M, Tripathi A. Enzymatic isolation and microfluidic electrophoresis analysis of residual dsRNA impurities in mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Analyst 2024; 149:1509-1517. [PMID: 38265070 DOI: 10.1039/d3an02157b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
The versatility, rapid development, and ease of production scalability of mRNA therapeutics have placed them at the forefront of biopharmaceutical research. However, despite their vast potential to treat diseases, their novelty comes with unsolved analytical challenges. A key challenge in ensuring sample purity has been monitoring residual, immunostimulatory dsRNA impurities generated during the in vitro transcription of mRNA. Here, we present a method that combines an enzyme, S1 nuclease, to identify and isolate dsRNA from an mRNA sample with a microfluidic electrophoresis analytical platform to characterize the impurity. After the method was developed and optimized, it was tested with clinically relevant, pseudouridine-modified 700 and 1800 bp dsRNA and 818-4451 nt mRNA samples. While the treatment impacted the magnitude of the fluorescent signal used to analyze the samples due to the interference of the buffer with the labeling of the sample, this signal loss was mitigated by 8.8× via treatment optimization. In addition, despite the mRNA concentration being up to 400× greater than that of the dsRNA, under every condition, there was a complete disappearance of the main mRNA peak. While the mRNA peak was digested, the dsRNA fragments remained physically unaffected by the treatment, with no change to their migration time. Using these samples, we detected 0.25% dsRNA impurities in mRNA samples using 15 μL with an analytical runtime of 1 min per sample after digestion and were able to predict their size within 8% of the expected length. The short runtime, sample consumption, and high throughput compatibility make it suitable to support the purity assessment of mRNA during purification and downstream.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Coll De Peña
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
| | - Matei Vaduva
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Nina S Li
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
| | | | | | - Anubhav Tripathi
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
| |
Collapse
|