Impact of mobile phase temperature on recovery and stability of monoclonal antibodies using recent reversed-phase stationary phases

Recent reversed-phase wide-pore stationary phases were evaluated for the separation of intact monoclonal antibodies and their fragments. Two types of stationary phases were tested: Phenomenex Aeris Widepore, with 3.6 μm core-shell particles and Waters Acquity BEH300 with 1.7 μm fully porous particles. A systematic investigation was carried out using model IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies, namely rituximab, panitumumab, and bevacizumab. It appeared that adsorption of these antibodies on the stationary phase was significantly higher compared to proteins of equivalent size. The adsorption was particularly important for the intact antibodies of 150 kDa and for the largest fragments of 50 to 100 kDa (i.e., heavy chain, -fraction of antigene-binding). The present study demonstrated an obvious relationship between adsorption phenomenon and the unwanted strong secondary interactions (ionic and hydrogen bond) of the stationary phase. Thus, adsorption was more pronounced on the Aeris column because of the stronger ion exchange contribution of this stationary phase. Using C4 phase instead of C18 at 50-70°C, there is a slight reduction (5-20%) in adsorption. Two solutions were proposed to decrease the strength of secondary interactions and thus resolve (or at least diminish) adsorption issue. First, increasing mobile phase temperature up to 80-90°C appeared as a promising solution. However, temperature should be used with caution as it can partially damage large biomolecules. A compromise between residence time and temperature should be found. Second, it is recommended to add a small amount of an ancillary solvent, such as n-butanol to the mobile phase. Indeed, the hydroxyl group of n-butanol probably interacts with water adsorbed on the residual silanol groups "to shield" silanols.

New trends in reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separations of therapeutic peptides and proteins: theory and applications

In the pharmaceutical field, there is considerable interest in the use of peptides and proteins for therapeutic purposes. There are various ways to characterize such complex samples, but during the last few years, a significant number of technological developments have been brought to the field of RPLC and RPLC-MS. Thus, the present review focuses first on the basics of RPLC for peptides and proteins, including the inherent problems, some possible solutions and some directions for developing a new RPLC method that is dedicated to biomolecules. Then the latest advances in RPLC, such as wide-pore core-shell particles, fully porous sub-2 μm particles, organic monoliths, porous layer open tubular columns and elevated temperature, are described and critically discussed in terms of both kinetic efficiency and selectivity. Numerous applications with real samples are presented that confirm the relevance of these different strategies. Finally, one of the key advantages of RPLC for peptides and proteins over other historical approaches is its inherent compatibility with MS using both MALDI and ESI sources.

Analytical aspects in doping control: challenges and perspectives

Since the first anti-doping tests in the 1960s, the analytical aspects of the testing remain challenging. The evolution of the analytical process in doping control is discussed in this paper with a particular emphasis on separation techniques, such as gas chromatography and liquid chromatography. These approaches are improving in parallel with the requirements of increasing sensitivity and selectivity for detecting prohibited substances in biological samples from athletes. Moreover, fast analyses are mandatory to deal with the growing number of doping control samples and the short response time required during particular sport events. Recent developments in mass spectrometry and the expansion of accurate mass determination has improved anti-doping strategies with the possibility of using elemental composition and isotope patterns for structural identification. These techniques must be able to distinguish equivocally between negative and suspicious samples with no false-negative or false-positive results. Therefore, high degree of reliability must be reached for the identification of major metabolites corresponding to suspected analytes. Along with current trends in pharmaceutical industry the analysis of proteins and peptides remains an important issue in doping control. Sophisticated analytical tools are still mandatory to improve their distinction from endogenous analogs. Finally, indirect approaches will be discussed in the context of anti-doping, in which recent advances are aimed to examine the biological response of a doping agent in a holistic way.

Analysis of peptides and proteins using sub-2 μm fully porous and sub 3-μm shell particles

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of sub-2 μm totally porous particles and sub-3 μm shell particles for peptide and protein analysis. Specific analytical strategies must be developed for these biomolecules as their importance in the pharmaceutical industry increases and as their structural complexity involves some issues when classical LC conditions are employed. Attention was paid on comparing these different columns in various LC conditions (different temperatures, gradient times, and mobile phase flow rates). The comparison of the different supports was assessed considering columns characteristics (quality of packing, silanol activity, pore size, totally porous or shell particles). In this article, peptides were first analyzed with both column technologies. Similar results to those achieved with low molecular weight compounds were obtained (peak capacity >100 for t(grad) around 3 min and columns dimensions of 2.1 mm id × 50 mm), but specific conditions were required (elevated temperature and the use of a volatile ion-pairing reagent, namely TFA). For peptide analysis following tryptic digestion, the goal was to improve peak capacity and resolution because of the large number of generated peptides. For this purpose, longer columns packed with porous sub-2 μm or shell sub-3 μm particles (i.e., 150 mm) and gradient times (i.e., up to 30 min) were tested. On the other hand, proteins in their intact forms have higher molecular weights (MW>5000 Da) and a tertiary structure, thus requiring different conditions in terms of stationary phase hydrophobicity (C(4)vs. C(18)) and pore size (300 vs. 120 Å). In addition, there were issues with adsorption onto the LC system and/or the column itself. This study showed that proteins with MWs lower than 40,000 Da required chromatographic conditions close to those employed for peptide analysis. For larger proteins, a C(4) 300 Å stationary phase gave the best results, confirming theoretical predictions.

Ultra high pressure liquid chromatography for crude plant extract profiling

Ultra high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) systems operating at very high pressures and using sub-2 microm packing columns have allowed a remarkable decrease in analysis time and increase in peak capacity, sensitivity, and reproducibility compared to conventional HPLC. This technology has rapidly been widely accepted by the analytical community and is being gradually applied to various fields of plant analysis such as QC, profiling and fingerprinting, dereplication, and metabolomics. For many applications, an important improvement of the overall performances has been reported. In this review, the basic principles of UHPLC are summarized, and practical information on the type of columns used and phase chemistry available is provided. An overview of the latest applications to natural product analysis in complex mixtures is given, and the potential and limitations as well as some new trends in the development of UHPLC are discussed.

Comparison of columns packed with porous sub-2 microm particles and superficially porous sub-3 microm particles for peptide analysis at ambient and high temperature

The objective of this study was to evaluate various chromatographic approaches for peptide analysis. Initially, the ultra-HPLC (UHPLC) strategy, which consists of using columns packed with sub-2 microm particles at a maximal pressure of 1000 bar, was tested. To limit the backpressure generated by small particles, columns packed with superficially porous sub-3 microm particles (fused-core technology) that should theoretically improve mass transfer, particularly beneficial for large biomolecules, were investigated. To evaluate these claims, kinetic plots were constructed in both isocratic and gradient modes at ambient and elevated temperature (up to 90 degrees C). For peptide analysis, both UHPLC and fused-core technologies showed a significant gain in peak capacity when compared with conventional HPLC using 5 mum particles and monolithic supports. Additionally, it has been shown that high temperature was of utmost interest to further improve kinetic performance and peak shape due to the improvement of secondary interaction kinetics. Finally, the best conditions developed for UHPLC using the gradient kinetic plot methodology were applied to the analysis of a complex tryptic digest of various proteins. The expected and experimental peak capacity values obtained were similar. In addition, the resolving power of UHPLC at 60 degrees C was appropriate for resolving complex mixtures of peptides.

A multi-target screening analysis in human plasma using fast liquid chromatography-hybrid tandem mass spectrometry (Part I)

OBJECTIVES

Evaluate a new LC-MS/MS screening method for drugs and drugs of abuse as an alternative to the existing methods used in clinical toxicology laboratories.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The work was divided in two parts. The first part was dedicated to the technical development and evaluation of the method for which a set of 97 drugs and relevant metabolites was used to perform a complete investigation of matrix effects and lower limit of identification (LOI). The second part was a comparison of identified drugs between LC-MS/MS and Remedi® instrument on clinical serum samples.

RESULTS

The method offers good performance allowing an automatic peak detection and compound identification. The limit of identification is equivalent to 50 μg/L for the majority of the studied compounds. The process efficiency (PE) is higher than 70% for 65% of the evaluated compounds. Thus, a sufficient detection capability in terms of limit of detection for identification and PE satisfied the expected performance.

CONCLUSION

The described methodology allows the identification of the main drugs incriminated in intoxications within a quite short analysis time. The separation of most of the analytes is performed in 15 min. The procedure is sufficiently sensitive and selective.

Fast chiral separation of drugs using columns packed with sub-2 microm particles and ultra-high pressure

The use of columns packed with sub-2 microm particles in liquid chromatography with very high pressure conditions (known as UHPLC) was investigated for the fast enantioseparation of drugs. Two different procedures were evaluated and compared using amphetamine derivatives and beta-blockers as model compounds. In one case, cyclodextrins (CD) were directly added to the mobile phase and chiral separations were carried out in less than 5 min. However, this strategy suffered from several drawbacks linked to column lifetime and low chromatographic efficiencies. In the other case, the analysis of enantiomers was carried out after a derivatization procedure using two different reagents, 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-D-arabinopyranosyl isothiocyanate (AITC) and N-alpha-(2,4-dinitro-5-fluorophenyl)-L-alaninamide (Marfey's reagent). Separation of several amphetamine derivatives contained within the same sample was achieved in 2-5 min with high efficiency and selectivity. The proposed approach was also successfully applied to the enantiomeric purity determination of (+)-(S)-amphetamine and (+)-(S)-methamphetamine. Similar results were obtained with beta-blockers, and the separation of 10 enantiomers was carried out in less than 3 min, whereas the individual separation of several beta-blocker enantiomers was performed in 1 min or less.

UPLC-TOF-MS for plant metabolomics: a sequential approach for wound marker analysis in Arabidopsis thaliana

The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana was studied for the search of new metabolites involved in wound signalling. Diverse LC approaches were considered in terms of efficiency and analysis time and a 7-min gradient on a UPLC-TOF-MS system with a short column was chosen for metabolite fingerprinting. This screening step was designed to allow the comparison of a high number of samples over a wide range of time points after stress induction in positive and negative ionisation modes. Thanks to data treatment, clear discrimination was obtained, providing lists of potential stress-induced ions. In a second step, the fingerprinting conditions were transferred to longer column, providing a higher peak capacity able to demonstrate the presence of isomers among the highlighted compounds.

Method transfer for fast liquid chromatography in pharmaceutical analysis: Application to short columns packed with small particle. Part II: Gradient experiments

Liquid chromatography (LC) is currently considered as the gold standard in pharmaceutical analysis. Today, there is an increasing need for fast and ultra-fast methods with good efficiency and resolution for achieving separations in a few minutes or even seconds. A previous article (i.e. method transfer for fast LC in pharmaceutical analysis. Part I: isocratic separation) described a simple methodology for performing a successful method transfer from conventional LC to fast and ultra-fast LC in isocratic mode. However, for performing complex separations, the gradient mode is often preferred. Thus, this article reports transfer rules for chromatographic separations in gradient mode. The methodology was applied for the impurity profiling of pharmaceutical compounds, following two strategies. A first approach, using short columns (20-50mm) packed with 3.5microm particles and optimized HPLC instrumentation (with reduced extra-column and dwell volumes), was applied for the separation of a pharmaceutical drug and eight related impurities. Special attention was paid to the dwell (gradient delay) volume, which causes the most detrimental effect for transferring a gradient method. Therefore, the dwell volume was simultaneously decreased with the column dead volume. Under optimal conditions, it was possible to reduce the analysis time by a factor of 10, with an acceptable loss in resolution since the column length reduction is less critical in gradient than isocratic mode. The second tested approach was Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC), where sub-2microm particles were used simultaneously with very high pressures (up to 1000bar). A complex pharmaceutical mixture containing 12 compounds was separated in only 1.5min allowing a reduction of the analysis time by a factor of 15 in comparison to a conventional method, with similar peak capacity.

High-throughput log P determination by ultraperformance liquid chromatography: a convenient tool for medicinal chemists

Accurate determinations of lipophilicity indices benefit from recent advances in chromatographic sciences such as the launch of ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC). The fast strategy presented here emerges as a powerful method suitable for high-throughput log P measurements of therapeutic compounds in isocratic and gradient modes. Because UPLC columns are highly stable in basic pH conditions, this approach allows a direct lipophilicity estimation of basic compounds in their neutral forms.

High throughput liquid chromatography with sub-2μm particles at high pressure and high temperature

In this study, ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) using pressures up to 1,000 bar and columns packed with sub-2 microm particles has been combined with high temperature mobile phase conditions (up to 90 degrees C). By using high temperature ultra performance liquid chromatography (HT-UPLC), it is possible to drastically decrease the analysis time without loss in efficiency. The stability and chromatographic behavior of sub-2 microm particles were evaluated at high temperature and high pressure. The chromatographic support remained stable after 500 injections (equivalent to 7,500 column volumes) and plate height curves demonstrated the capability of HT-UPLC to obtain fast separations. For example, a separation of nine doping agents was performed in less than 1 min with sub-2 microm particles at 90 degrees C. Furthermore, a shorter column (30 mm length) was used and allowed a separation of eight pharmaceutical compounds in only 40s.

Coupling CE with atmospheric pressure photoionization MS for pharmaceutical basic compounds: Optimization of operating parameters

The use of CE coupled with MS (CE-MS) has evolved as a useful tool to analyze charged species in small sample volumes. Because of its sensitivity, versatility and ease of implementation, the ESI interface is currently the method of choice to hyphenate CE to MS. An alternative can be the atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) source, however, numerous parameters must be optimized for its coupling to CE. After evaluation of the sheath liquid composition and the CE capillary outlet position, an experimental design methodology was assessed for optimizing other ionization source parameters, such as sheath liquid flow rate, drying gas flow rate and temperature, nebulizing gas pressure, vaporizer temperature, and capillary voltage. For this purpose, a fractional factorial design (FFD) was selected as a screening procedure to identify factors which significantly influence sensitivity and efficiency. A face-centered central composite design (CCD) was then used to predict and optimize sensitivity, taking into account the most relevant variables. Sensitivity was finally evaluated with the optimized conditions and height-to-noise ratios (H/N) around 10 were achieved for an injection of 200 ng/mL of each analyte.

Relation between the particle size distribution and the kinetic performance of packed columns

To study the influence of the particle size distribution (PSD), we measured the chromatographic performance of a series of sub-2 microm particle high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns packed with four different particle mixtures having a purposely imposed different size distribution. Using the reduced kinetic plot representation by plotting the separation impedance (E(0)) versus the plate number ratio (N(opt)/N), the different columns could be classified according to their chromatographic performance without the need to specify a mean particle diameter or a molecular diffusion coefficient, as is needed in the classical reduced plate height and flow resistance analysis. The present analysis shows that it is not so much the width or span of the particle size distribution, but rather the presence of fines that greatly determines the chromatographic performance of particulate columns.

Method transfer for fast liquid chromatography in pharmaceutical analysis: Application to short columns packed with small particle. Part I: Isocratic separation

Liquid chromatography (LC) is considered to be the gold standard in pharmaceutical analysis. Today, there is a need for fast and ultra-fast methods with good efficiency and resolution for achieving separations in few minutes or even seconds. The present work describes a simple methodology for performing a successful method transfer from conventional LC to fast and ultra-fast LC. In order to carry out fast separations, short columns (20-50mm) packed with small particles (3.5 and 1.7 microm) were used and their chromatographic performance was compared to that of a conventional column (150 mm, 5 microm). For that purpose, an optimized LC system was employed to limit extra-column volumes which can have a dramatic impact on efficiency and resolution. This paper reports the fundamental equations used for transferring an isocratic chromatographic separation performed with a given column geometry and chemistry to a smaller column packed with similar or identical stationary phase, without influence on chromatographic performance. For this purpose, the flow rate and the injected volume need to be adapted. The effect of column length and particle size reduction on chromatographic resolution and analysis time was described for an isocratic separation. Using the method transfer equations, it is possible to predict the new conditions to be used, for fast and ultra-fast separations. In this work, ultra-fast separations were achieved thanks to a new generation of instrumentation (ultra performance liquid chromatography, UPLC) which uses simultaneously short column packed with sub-2 microm particles and ultra-high pressure (up to 1000 bar). This work demonstrates an analysis time reduction up to a factor 12, compared to a conventional LC separation, without affecting the quality of separation. Therefore, the complete resolution of a pharmaceutical formulation was achieved in only a few seconds.

Recent developments in liquid chromatography—Impact on qualitative and quantitative performance

In order to reduce the analysis time and maintain good efficiency in liquid chromatography (LC), several solutions are currently being investigated. The focus of this study was to compare, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the chromatographic performance of a conventional LC with selected approaches, namely monolithic supports, high temperature LC (up to 90 degrees C), and sub-2 microm particles combined with high pressure (up to 1000 bar). This comparison was achieved from a qualitative point of view with a special attention paid to the analysis of time reduction, efficiency improvement, and pressure constraint. For this purpose, the different approaches were discussed using Knox curves and other kinetic plots. It appeared that columns packed with sub-2 microm particles under high-pressure conditions (UPLC) were well adapted and this option represents an attractive alternative to conventional LC; however, the other alternative approaches should not be neglected. The quantitative evaluation of these techniques was performed on the basis of the validation of results of a pharmaceutical formulation (Rapidocaïne), following SFSTP 2003 guidelines. Fast-LC approaches demonstrated equivalent performance to conventional LC in terms of trueness, precision, and accuracy profile, with a significant time reduction (up to 8x) according to the selected methodology.

Chromatographic behaviour and comparison of column packed with sub-2μm stationary phases in liquid chromatography

In order to reduce the analysis time and maintain good efficiency in liquid chromatography, it is advisable to simultaneously decrease the column length and the particle size of the chromatographic support. Therefore, several manufacturers have developed and commercialized short columns filled with particles that have a diameter smaller than 2 microm. The focus of this work was to check the chromatographic performance of such columns and compare possibilities offered by sub-2 microm supports with conventional columns in terms of analysis time reduction and efficiency improvements. For this purpose, different parameters were discussed namely: separation impedance (E), Knox curves (h,v), and number of plates by time unit (N/t0). Kinetic plots were also drawn. It appeared that sub-2 microm supports were well adapted to improve chromatographic performance and to reduce the analysis time. Furthermore, it was also demonstrated that the best chromatographic performances were reached with high pressure systems (up to 1000 bar).

Fast analysis in liquid chromatography using small particle size and high pressure

In order to enhance chromatographic performances in terms of efficiency and rapidity, LC has recently evolved in the development of short columns packed with small particles (sub-2 microm) working at high pressures (> 400 bar). This approach has been described 30 years ago according to the fundamental chromatographic equations. However, systems and columns compatible with such high pressures have been introduced in the market in 2004 only. Advantages of small particles working at high pressure will be discussed in terms of sensitivity, efficiency, resolution, and analysis time. Potential problems encountered with high pressure in terms of frictional heating and solvent compressibility will also be discussed even if systems working at a maximum pressure of 1000 bar are not influenced by these parameters and give reliable and reproducible results. Several applications will highlight the potential and interest of this new technology.

Practical Constraints in the Kinetic Plot Representation of Chromatographic Performance Data: Theory and Application to Experimental Data

It is demonstrated that the kinetic plot representation of experimental plate height data can also account for practical constraints on the column length, the peak width, the viscous heating, and the mobile-phase velocity without needing any iterative solution routine. This implies that the best possible kinetic performance to be expected from a given tested support under any possible set of practical optimization constraints can always be found using a directly responding calculation spreadsheet template. To show how the resulting constrained kinetic plots can be used as a powerful design and selection tool, the method has been applied to a series of plate height measurements performed on a number of different commercial columns for the same component (butyl-parabene) and mobile-phase composition. The method, for example, allows one to account for the fact that the advantageous solutions displayed by the silica monolith and 5 microm particle columns in the large plate number range of the free kinetic plot are no longer accessible if applying a maximal column length constraint of Lmax = 30 cm. In the plate number range that remains accessible, the investigated sub-2 mum particle columns in any case perform (at least for the presently considered parabene separation) better than the 3.5 mum particle columns or silica monolith, especially if considering the use of system pressures exceeding 400 bar. The constrained kinetic plot method can also be used to select the best-suited column length from an available product gamma to perform a separation with a preset number of plates. One of the optimization results that is obtained in this case is that sometimes a significant gain in analysis time can be obtained by selecting a longer column, yielding the desired plate number at a larger velocity than that for a shorter column.

Enhanced method performances for conventional and chiral CE-ESI/MS analyses in plasma

Due to its high efficiency, selectivity, and sensitivity, CE-ESI/MS has evolved as an efficient technique for the drugs and metabolites analysis in biological matrices. However, a sample preparation is mandatory prior to CE-ESI/MS analysis. To achieve fast and simplified sample preparation of plasma samples, protein precipitation (PP) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) were used with two injection techniques: hydrodynamic (HD) and electrokinetic (EK) injection. CE-ESI/MS analyses of pharmaceutical compounds and amphetamine derivatives were developed. Detection limits of 1 ppm were reached with PP and HD injection whereas 1 ppb was detected when samples were prepared with LLE and injected by EK. Same experiments were performed for stereoselective determinations in partial-filling mode and detection limits achieved were equivalent to conventional analysis (0.5 ppb per enantiomer). When complex matrices are analyzed, MS signal suppression or enhancement effects are generally not reproducible and could compromise results with ESI. Therefore, matrix effect was investigated in CE-ESI/MS with a commercially available coaxial sheath-liquid ESI interface used as postcapillary infusion system to determine MS signal alterations. Matrix effects were differentially evidenced according to the selected sample preparation. With PP, signal suppression was observed out of the analyses migration window, while for LLE no relevant matrix effect occurred in all experiments.

Some advantages of high temperature for the separation of pharmaceutical compounds with mass spectrometry detection

The beneficial effects of high temperature on separation and detection of basic compounds, the detection being performed by MS via ESI, are investigated. The influence of various parameters on both separation and detection performances is studied. These parameters include the mobile phase pH, the temperature, and the type of stationary phase. Experiments are performed under gradient elution conditions. The results obtained with four different supports, silica-, zirconia-, carbon-, and polymer-based columns, are compared by means of different criteria including the elution composition, the peak asymmetry, and the S/N. High temperature liquid chromatography at high pH with volatile buffers suitable for MS detection was shown to be an interesting choice for solutes with basic sites.

Optimization of the coupling of high-temperature liquid chromatography and flame ionization detection

The feasibility of coupling high-temperature liquid chromatography (HTLC) to flame ionization detection (FID) has been studied. FID parameter values (hydrogen flow-rate, air flow-rate and FID temperature), typically set in gas chromatography are rarely suitable for liquid chromatography. Best values depend obviously on the water flow rate which is defined depending on both column temperature and column internal diameter. The FID parameters were optimized according to the water flow-rate by means of an experimental design. The potential of the method is shown with some alcohol separations and the value of increasing column temperature while reducing the column diameter is highlighted.