Application of automated liquid handling in ligand-binding assay-based bioanalytical method development: the practical considerations

Using multiple platforms for critical reagents selection process to support pharmacokinetic ligand-binding assay development

We have evaluated the utility of epitope binning on biolayer interferometry (BLI) as a strategy to funnel the selection of candidate pairs suitable for pharmacokinetic assay development. Totally, 8 anti-Idiotypic monoclonal antibodies in 64 possible combinations were tested by BLI, ELISA and Gyrolab^®. Two epitope binning approaches were utilized, in-tandem and classic sandwich. Both formats identified four mutually exclusive bins providing 31 and 25 possible antibody pair combinations, respectively. In contrast, the ELISA and Gyrolab yielded 18 and 9 positive pairs, respectively, with only a partial correlation to the BLI results. Several positive pairs by ELISA and Gyrolab, screened negative by BLI. Just over half of the pairs predicted by BLI were positive on ELISA and less than a quarter were positive on Gyrolab. This evaluation showed, in our case, that BLI was limited in its ability to predict candidate pairs that would be successful in pharmacokinetic method development.

Evaluate the comparability of two automated liquid handling systems for clinical toxicology assays

Automated liquid handling (ALH) platforms are increasingly implemented in clinical laboratories to improve analytical reproducibility and replace manual handling during sample analysis. In clinical toxicology laboratories, ALH platforms are primarily utilized to perform sample preparation and extraction prior to subsequent analysis by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). When performing analysis with complex human biological matrices, verifying the performance characteristics of ALH platforms is required to ensure the assays' accuracy and reproducibility. Here, we evaluated and compared the analytical performances of Perkin Elmer JANUS® and Tecan Fluent® ALH systems in parallel, based on their performance in two toxicology assays designed to identify and quantify various opiates, semisynthetic opiates, and their metabolites. The comparability of the instrument platforms was evaluated by comparing assay analytical measuring range, total analytical imprecisions, and patient samples measurement when the ALH platforms are incorporated as part of the clinical assay's workflow. We have shown that both ALH platforms meet quality and performance criteria suitable for clinical toxicology assays. Nevertheless, the two platforms exhibit biases when measuring unknown patient samples. Such variations in their analytical performances may cause discrepancies when comparing results obtained from two different ALH platforms. In conclusion, it is important to consider how variations in ALH platform performances can affect patient results interpretation when implementing them in clinical laboratories.

Application of multiplexed pharmacokinetic immunoassay to quantify in vivo drug forms and coadministered biologics

Aim: Meso Scale Discovery U-PLEX® provides an opportunity to develop multiplexed pharmacokinetic (PK) immunoassays. Two case studies demonstrate the utility of multiplexed PK methods. Materials & methods: Development of PK ligand-binding assays quantify of nonclinical plasma concentrations of a biotherapeutic that has degraded due to in vivo biotransformation, and clinical serum concentrations from two biotherapeutics spiked into a single sample. Results: Data from multiplexed U-PLEX PK methods are comparable to results from single-readout streptavidin Meso Scale Discovery gold PK methods. Multiplex measurement of a nonclinical study showed acceptable performance for accuracy, precision and dilutional linearity while a clinical study additionally passed selectivity, specificity and stability. Conclusion: Regulated, validation-ready multiplex PK methods for both nonclinical and clinical studies allow opportunities for high-throughput bioanalysis.

Use of Ella® to facilitate drug quantification and antidrug antibody detection in preclinical studies

Aim: To explore the usability of the Ella® platform for preclinical analysis of therapeutic antibodies and antidrug antibodies (ADA). Experimental: Two well-established ELISAs for the measurement of human IgG and ADA were transferred to the Ella platform. ELISA and the Ella platform were compared using assay qualification data and results of preclinical sample analysis. Results: The performance and results of both assays on the Ella platform were comparable to those of ELISA. The Ella platform had several advantages, including time efficiency, low sample consumption and a high degree of automation. ADA were assessed on Ella for the first time. Conclusion: The Ella platform is a promising tool for the analysis of preclinical samples.