A mechanistic study of Protein A chromatography resin lifetime

A mechanistic study into Protein A chromatographic resin lifetime limitations is presented. Binding and mass transport properties of two widely used agarose-based Protein A resins were studied to distinguish between the roles of resin fouling due to product/impurity build-up and ligand degradation as contributory factors towards the decline in binding capacity with use. Cycling studies were conducted with and without product loading on the columns to separate out the influence of resin fouling. Ligand degradation under the mildly alkaline conditions used for column regeneration was determined to be the primary cause for Protein A resin capacity decline with usage. The use of lower concentrations of caustic and the use of stabilizing excipients to protect the Protein A ligand during cleaning and sanitization were found to be useful techniques in maintaining column performance. The results presented in this paper provide a clearer understanding of the causative factors that limit Protein A chromatographic resin lifetime. It is anticipated that these findings will assist in the development of more robust and economical downstream manufacturing processes for monoclonal antibody and Fc fusion protein purification.     

High performance liquid chromatography with post-column photolysis of pesticides for generation of fluorophores

Summary Several classes of pesticides have been found to respond to a high performance liquid chromatography post-column reaction detector that employs UV photolysis with an optional reaction with o-phthalicdicarboxaldehyde-2-mercaptoethanol (OPA-MERC) reagent followed by fluorescence detection. Photolysis of most of the N-methylcarbamates, carbamoyl oximes, carbamothioic acids, dithiocarbamates, and phenylureas tested produced primary amines which reacted with OPA-MERC to form the respective derivatives. In some cases, substituted aromatic pesticides such as phenylcarbamates, phenylamides, and phenylureas photolyzed to chemical species which had native fluorescence. This technique was successfully applied to a method for pesticide analyses in groundwater and vegetation. For aldicarb sulfone, a pesticide that did not absorb UV light, use of acetone as a photosensitizer enhanced detection.     

Analysis of ofloxacin in plasma samples by high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary A sensitive HPLC method has been developed for determination of ofloxacin (OFL) in biological fluids. Sample preparation was performed by adding phosphate buffer (pH 7.4, 0.1m) then extraction with trichloromethane. OFL and the internal standard, sarafloxacin (SAR), were separated on a reversed-phase column with aqueous phosphate solution-acetonitrile, 80∶20, as mobile phase. The fluorescence of the column effluent was monitored at λ_ex 338 and λ_em 425 nm. The retention times were 2.66 and 4.24 min for OFL and SAR, respectively, and the detection and quantitation limits were 8 and 15 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Plots of response against ofloxacin concentration were linear in the range 8 to 2000 ng mL⁻¹. Recovery was 92.9% for OFL.     

Sensitive determination of cinnarizine in human plasma by high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection

Summary A sensitive high performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of cinnarizine in human plasma. Cinnarizine and clocinizine (internal standard) were extracted from acidified plasma (pH 4.7) into carbon tetrachloride and the organic layer was evaporated. The products were separated on a Microspher C18 (3 m) column, using a mixture of 0.04 % triethylamine in 0.01 M ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH₄H₂PO₄), pH adjusted to 4.2 with orthophosphoric acid (H₃PO₄), and acetonitrile (2080, v/v) as mobile phase, at a flow rate of 1 ml/min at 40°C. Fluorescence detection (_ex = 245 nm, _em = 310 nm) was used; the detection limit was 0.5 ng/ml under the conditions used, and the calibration curve linear in the concentration range evaluated (1–60 ng/ml). The assay has been used to measure cinnarizine concentrations in plasma after oral administration to volunteers.     

Comparison of provitamin A determination by normal-phase gravity-flow column chromatography and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

Summary The provitamin A content of some food samples was determined by methods involving MgO: Hyflosupercel gravityflow column chromatography (GFCC) and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the quantitation being done by external standardization (HPLC-ES) or internal standardization (HPLC-IS) with Sudan. The results obtained with - and -carotene in carrots, -carotene and -cryptoxanthin in papaya and -carotene in tomato and kale agreed well, showing that any of the these techniques can be used, provided the analysis is done under optimum conditions. Good separation of the different provitamins using GFCC depends on the analyst's skill and visual acuity. HPLC-ES required a constant supply of provitamin standards, thus the varying purity of commercially available standards and the high instability of these compounds could pose grave problems. Due to the stability of Sudan, HPLC-IS appeared to be the method of choice although passage of the extract through a MgO: Hyflosupercel minicolumn was required prior to injection to separate chlorophylls, dihydroxy- and polyoxycarotenoids which would otherwise elute with Sudan. Nonconformity of the Sudan structure to those of the provitamins did not effect the quantitative results. The chromatographic separation, identity and quantification of the provitamins could be more easily established by using HPLC-IS, complemented with GFCC.     

Synthesis and chromatographic properties of an HPLC chiral stationary phase based upon human serum albumin

Summary A new HPLC stationary phase was synthesized by thein situ covalent immobilization of human serum albumin (HSA). The protein was immobilized on a commerically available diol column which had been activated with 1,1-carbonyldiimidazole. Initial chromatographic studies show that this phase can be used for chiral separations of enantiomeric solutes and that these separations may reflectin vitro binding to the HSA. The effects of mobile phase composition and temperature on the stereochemical resolutions are reported.     

Evaluation of octadecyl-bonded alumina for separations of proteins and peptides by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary A recently-developed octadecyl-bonded alumina (ODA) stationary phase was evaluated for the separation of peptides and proteins by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. Using standard water-acetonitrile mobile phase gradients containing 0.1 % trifluoroacetic acid, the average peak capacity obtained for the separation of a mixture of ribonuclease a, cytochrome c, lysozyme and carbonic anhydrase on an ODA column are similar to that obtained on a widely used octadecylsilane (ODS) column. However, overall chromatographic resolution of the components of this mixture on ODA is inferior to that obtained on ODS. Cytochrome c peak areas were found to be 50% smaller on the ODA column than on ODS. On the other hand, both peak capacities and resolutions of octapeptide mixtures were found to be generally superior on the ODA column, and peak areas for a representative octapeptide were found to be virtually identical for both ODA and ODS columns. The differences in the results obtained on the ODA and ODS columns for these separations are attributed to the smaller pore size and unique fused-microplatelet shape of the ODA particles. Comparisons of the separations of the tryptic digest of cytochrome c on the ODS and ODA columns demonstrate that the ODA phase is potentially as useful as ODS for peptide mapping applications.     

Information theory of optimization in chromatography: Analytical structure of optimization

Summary The analytical roles of chromatographic variables (column length, etc.) can be soundly comprehended and compared in terms of the precision (Φ) of measurements and efficiency (ϑ) of analysis which are described as Shannon information and information flow, respectively. The φϑ plots of the optimization process and the information Φ transmitted by a single peak are useful to understand the analytical structure of optimization. Variables treated here are mobile phase composition (X), column length (L), mobile phase velocity rate (u), detection wavelength (λ) and plate number (N).     

High-performance anion-exchange chromatography of carbohydrates using a new resin and pulsed amperometric detection

Summary This paper reports the results of a study on the use of a new polymer-based, strong anion-exchange, stationary phase for rapid and selective separation of carbohydrates and related compounds by high-pH, anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. The new adsorbent has been obtained by direct nitration of 2.8 μm, spherical non-porous highly cross-linked, styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer beads, followed by reduction of superficially introduced nitro groups with nascent hydrogen and quaternization of the resultant amino groups with iodomethane. It is reported that by optimizing the ionic strength of the mobile phase, columns packed with the new anion-exchanger can be successfully employed to separate, either in isocratic or gradient elution mode, oligosaccharides, positional isomers of gluco-disaccharides, as well as uronic acids and sugar monophosphates.     

Polymer-based monolithic microcolumns for hydrophobic interaction chromatography of proteins

Monolithic capillary columns for hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) have been prepared by thermally initiated, single-step in situ polymerization of mixtures of monovinyl monomers including butyl methacrylate and/or 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, with a divinyl crosslinker glycerol dimethacrylate or 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate using two different porogen systems. Two porogenic solvent mixtures were used; one "hydrophilic", consisting of water, butanediol, and propanol, and one "hydrophobic," comprising dodecanol and cyclohexanol. The porous structures of the monoliths were characterized and their performance was demonstrated with a separation of a mixture of myoglobin, ribonuclease A, and lysozyme under conditions typical of HIC.     

Rapid screening of airway secretions for fucose by parallel ligand-exchange chromatography with post-column derivatization and fluorescence detection

Summary Fucose (6-deoxygalactose) is a constituent of airway mucous glycoproteins. In this paper we describe a high-throughput method for screening nasal lavage fluid samples and induced sputum samples for fucose. Fucose was released by hydrolysis with 0.5m sulfuric acid at 100°C for 4 h. After pH adjustment remaining proteins were removed by on-line dialysis. Chromatography was performed with two 300 mm×7.8 mm i.d. Bio-Rad Aminex HPX-87H columns arranged in a box-car configuration. Post-column derivatization was performed with benzamidine under alkaline conditions. Fluorescence was monitored at an excitation wavelength of 360 nm, using an optical cut-off filter of 420 nm. The limit of quantitation for fucose was 40 μm (S/N=3) in 300μL nasal lavage medium, with use of a 20-μL injection loop. Relative standard deviation (RSD) values for intra and inter assay data were below 15% and 20%, respectively, at spike levels of 635 μm l-fucose. The method was used to monitor the fucose content of human airway secretions. Presented at: 23^rd International Symposium on Chromatography, London, UK, October 1–5, 2000     

Indirect fluorimetric detection of proteins via postcolumn mixing with fluorescence probe in size-exclusion chromatography

Summary Proteins were visualized by postcolumn mixing with 2-p-toluidinyl-6-naphthalene sulfonate or 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate in size-exclusion chromatography. The indirect detection is based on fluorescence enhancement of the fluorescence probe owing to hydrophobic interaction with proteins. Bovine serum albumin gave the highest signal intensity among the proteins examined.     

Theoretical tools for predicting optimal cross‐sectional shapes in micro‐gas chromatography

It is meaningful to explore the possibility of improving the micro‐GC column performance by adjusting the column cross‐sectional shape. The objective of this study was to seek the column cross‐sectional shape that results in larger plate number per meter than other shapes with the same cross‐sectional area and the same flow resistance coefficient. We applied a model based on the volume averaging method to derive the expression of plate height for columns with arbitrary cross‐sectional shapes, and conducted the shape optimization by combining the model and an optimization tool. By varying flow resistance coefficient, we obtained a series of optimal shapes. It is found that, the optimal shape with larger flow resistance coefficient is shallower and the related plate number per meter is larger. We predicted and optimized the performance of a micro‐GC column reported in literature. The prediction agrees reasonably with experimental data. More than twice the plate number per meter of the original column was predicted by using a hypothetical column with one optimal cross‐sectional shape.     

Preparative separation and enrichment of four taxoids from Taxus chinensis needles extracts by macroporous resin column chromatography

An environment‐friendly method was established for the preparative separation and enrichment of four taxoids, namely 10‐deacetylbaccatin III (10‐DAB III), 7‐xylosyl‐10‐deacetyltaxol (7‐xyl‐10‐DAT), cephalomannine and paclitaxel from Taxus chinensis needles extracts. Characteristics of seven widely used macroporous resins for four taxoids were compared, AB‐8 resin offered better adsorption and desorption capacities than others. AB‐8 resin column chromatography was used to study the desorption process for four taxoids. The optimum parameters for desorption were 30% ethanol 5 RV for removing impurities, following 15 RV for 10‐DAB III, after the desorption of impurities with 35% ethanol 10 RV, 45% ethanol 30 RV for 7‐xyl‐10‐DAT, then 65% ethanol 10 RV for cephalomannine and paclitaxel, the flow rate was 6 RV/h. After separation on AB‐8 resin column chromatography, the contents of 10‐DAB III, 7‐xyl‐10‐DAT, cephalomannine and paclitaxel in the product reached 4.58, 13.17, 1.36 and 3.08%, respectively, which were 7.63‐, 3.68‐, 6.18‐ and 6.55‐fold to those in T. chinensis needles extracts. The recovery yields were 94.96, 77.32, 88.09 and 95.25%. In general, the AB‐8 resin column chromatography has the advantages of lower cost, high efficiency and simple procedure. Therefore, it may provide scientific references for the preparative separation and enrichment of taxoids from other T. species.     

Protein A chromatography: Challenges and progress in the purification of monoclonal antibodies

Antibodies for therapeutic use are being continuously approved and their demand has been steadily growing. As known, the golden standard for monoclonal antibody (mAb) purification is Protein A affinity chromatography, a technology that has gained high interest because of its great performance and capabilities. The main concerns are the elevated resins costs and their limited lifetime compared to other resins (e.g. ion exchange chromatography). Great efforts have been carried out to improve purification conditions, such as resin characterization and designing alkali/acid stable resins with a longer lifetime. Modification of Protein A ligands and alternative formats such as monoliths membranes and microshperes have been tested to increase the purification performance. New technology has been proposed to improve the large‐scale separation; in addition, alternative ligands have been suggested to capture mAbs instead of Protein A ligand; however, most of the information is locked by pharmaceutical companies. This mini review summarizes and describes the advances, results, and impact on the Protein A chromatography purification processing.     

Salt effects in anion exchange displacement chromatography: Comparison of pentosan polysulfate and dextran sulfate displacers

Summary Experimental studies were carried out to investigate the utility of pentosan polysulfate as a low molecular weight polyelectrolyte displacer for the purification of proteins in anion-exchange displacement systems. In addition, the influence of mobile phase salt concentration on displacer efficacy, protein-protein resolution, and displacement development were studied for several anionic displacers. It was found that while large polyelectrolytes (50 kd dextran sulfate) were efficient displacers for a wide range of salt concentrations, relatively small polyelectrolytes (3 kd pentosan polysulfate) were seen to act as an efficient displacer only under conditions of high salt micro-environments. In addition, for proteins exhibiting similar affinities, zone mixing at the protein-protein boundary was found to be quite sensitive to the salt concentration. Finally, displacement chromatography was successfully implemented for the separation of proteins from milk whey.     

Analytical and semipreparative separation of the enantiomers of new acetylcholinesterase inhibitors by high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary The resolution of the enantiomers of new acetylcholinesterase inhibitors by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was investigated on stationary phases containing cellulose tris-(3,5 methylphenylcarbamide) (Chiralcel OD). The effects of the mobile phase on retention, enantioselectivity and resolution were also studied. Ethanol and isopropanol were tested as organic modifiers and the influence of diethylamine was investigated. The effect of temperature on chiral separations was also studieded.     

Fluorescence enhancement of dansylamino acids by bovine serum albumin as mobile phase additive in microcolumn liquid chromatography

Summary The effects of acetonitrile and bovine serum albumin (BSA) concentrations on the signal intensity and retention behavior of dansylamino acids have been examined by using -cyclodextrin-bonded silica gel as the stationary phase in microcolumn liquid chromatography. Fluorescence intensities of dansylamino acids were enhanced by BSA as a mobile phase additive, e.g., detection limits of dansyl derivatives of L-Ala and L-Phe were improved by a factor of 12–18.     

A study of the use of microdialysis probes as a sampling unit in on-line bioprocess monitoring in conjunction with column liquid chromatography

Summary An automated on-line sampling and analytical set-up for the control of fermentations was studied incorporating a microdialysis probe as the sampling device. Applications to a penicillin broth and an ethanol fermentation were studied. Typical recovery values of carbohydrates were found to be close to 100% even after exposure of the microdialysis probe in the process for about 30 h.     

Flow injection analysis coupled with HPLC and CE for monitoring chemical production processes

Summary In chemical and pharmaceutical production plants process control is often performed by plant personal near the process (at-line). Alternatively, spectroscopic procedures like near infrared may be coupled to the process using in-line or on-line interfaces. When the analytical problem cannot be solved by these established approaches chromatographic techniques can be directly coupled to the production process. An application of chemical reaction monitoring which is difficult to perform is reported. The analytical problems are solved by HPLC and CE. Both techniques in the application presented need an on-line derivatization step prior to the analysis. Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) was applied for this sample preparation step. For the online coupling to the commercially available CE-instrument a special sample vial was developed. The application shows sufficient reproducibility and analysis speed for near real-time monitoring. of the process. Dedicated to Professor Dr. Heinz Engelhardt on the occasion of his 65^th birthday.