A non-radioactive method for measuring Cu uptake in HepG2 cells

Evaluating a Modified High Purity Polysorbate 20 Designed to Reduce the Risk of Free Fatty Acid Particle Formation

PURPOSE

To evaluate a modified high purity polysorbate 20 (RO HP PS20)-with lower levels of stearate, palmitate and myristate esters than the non-modified HP PS20-as a surfactant in biopharmaceutical drug products (DP). RO HP PS20 was designed to provide functional equivalence as a surfactant while delaying the onset of free fatty acid (FFA) particle formation upon hydrolytic degradation relative to HP PS20.

METHODS

Analytical characterization of RO HP PS20 raw material included fatty acid ester (FAE) distribution, higher order ester (HOE) fraction, FFA levels and trace metals. Functional assessments included 1) vial and intravenous bag agitation; 2) oxidation via a placebo and methionine surrogate study; and 3) hydrolytic PS20 degradation studies to evaluate FFA particle formation with and without metal nucleation.

RESULTS

Interfacial protection and oxidation propensity were comparable between the two polysorbates. Upon hydrolytic degradation, FFA particle onset was delayed in RO HP PS20. The delay was more pronounced when HOEs of PS20 were preferentially degraded. Furthermore, the hydrolytic degradants of RO HP PS20 formed fewer particles in the presence of spiked aluminum.

CONCLUSION

This work highlights the criticality of having tighter control on long chain FAE levels of PS20 to reduce the occurrence of FFA particle formation upon hydrolytic degradation and lower the variability in its onset. By simultaneously meeting compendial PS20 specifications while narrowing the allowable range for each FAE and shifting its composition towards the shorter carbon chain species, RO HP PS20 provides a promising alternative to HP PS20 for biopharmaceutical DPs.

Stress Temperature Studies in Small Scale Hastelloy® Drug Substance Containers Lead to Increased Extent of and Increased Variability in Antibody-Drug Conjugate and Monoclonal Antibody Aggregation: Evidence for Novel Oxidation-Induced Crosslinking in Monoclonal Antibodies

Health authorities require that suitable stability of the drug substance be shown in relevant materials of construction. ICH Q1A(R2) explicitly states that "stability studies should be conducted on drug substance packaged in a container closure system that is the same as or simulates the packaging proposed for storage and distribution". Stainless steel containers are commonly used for the long-term storage of frozen bulk drug substances (DSs). Hastelloy®-based metal containers are sometimes used due to their higher corrosion resistance and significantly lower iron content to mitigate the potential corrosion-related risks associated with high salt formulations. Despite their benefits, we have found that elevated temperature stability studies in small scale Hastelloy® containers can lead to degradation that is not representative of degradation under typical storage conditions relevant to the manufacturing process. We provide evidence for an oxidation-induced aggregation mechanism that is based on Fenton chemistry with peroxide being supplied by the autoxidation of polysorbate at stress temperatures. Further, variation in the rates of iron leaching between individual small scale containers is shown to be the cause of the variable rates of degradation through strong correlations between leached iron levels and the extents of oxidation and aggregation. The addition of a metal chelator or the removal of polysorbate from the formulation mitigates the oxidation and the non-representative behavior. Extended characterization by LC-MS and ¹⁸O labeled peptide mapping shows that a significant portion of the aggregate formed under these conditions is covalently crosslinked and that the predominant covalent species is either a dityrosine or tyrosine-tryptophan crosslink between an Fc peptide and a Fab peptide. This report is the first time either of these two crosslinks have been reported for antibodies with detailed analytical characterization. Because the behavior observed in these studies is not representative of degradation under typical storage conditions relevant to the manufacturing process, this study demonstrates that small scale stress studies in metal containers should be performed with caution and that extended incubation times can lead to non-representative degradation mechanisms.

Synthesis of new Cu(II)-benzohydrazide nanometer complexes, spectral, modeling, CT-DNA binding with potential anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic theoretical features

New nanometer Cu(II)-benzohydrazide complexes were synthesized and characterized. Mono negative tetra-dentate mode is the general feature proposed for all coordinating ligands. Variable structural forms were established, square-planer, tetrahedral and octahedral arrangements around copper centers. XRD and TEM studies displayed a nanometer size for crystalline compounds. TGA analysis of new complexes showed low thermal stability due to the presence of crystal water molecules. Kinetic parameters were calculated using two comparative methods for assertion. ESR study was performed on three chosen complexes to estimate essential spectral parameters and assert on proposed geometries. Gaussian09 software program and applying DFT/B3LYP method was used for optimizing all structures to give the best arrangement for atoms. Essential indexes were extracted from log files as well as other indexes were computed based on frontier energy gaps. Potential theoretical anti-inflammatory, antitumor and anti-allergic studies were executed using Autodock 4.2 tools. Essential energies were calculated over docking complexes corresponding to 5HN1, 5AV1 and 4H1L protein receptors for three pathogens (inflammation, liver cancer and allergy, respectively). H₂L⁵ ligand displays significant activity towards inflammation and allergy diseases. Such potential feature will give a well insight about their biological attitude in future experimentation.

Synthesis of Novel VO(II)-Perimidine Complexes: Spectral, Computational, and Antitumor Studies

A series of perimidine derivatives (L^1-5) were prepared and characterized by IR, ¹H·NMR, mass spectroscopy, UV-Vis, XRD, thermal, and SEM analysis. Five VO(II) complexes were synthesized and investigated by most previous tools besides the theoretical usage. A neutral tetradentate mode of bonding is the general approach for all binding ligands towards bi-vanadyl atoms. A square-pyramidal is the configuration proposed for all complexes. XRD analysis introduces the nanocrystalline nature of the ligand while the amorphous appearance of its metal ion complexes. The rocky shape is the observable surface morphology from SEM images. Thermal analysis verifies the presence of water of crystallization with all coordination spheres. The optimization process was accomplished using the Gaussian 09 software by different methods. The most stable configurations were extracted and displayed. Essential parameters were computed based on frontier energy gaps with all compounds. QSAR parameters were also obtained to give another side of view about the biological approach with the priority of the L³ ligand. Applying AutoDockTools 4.2 program over all perimidine derivatives introduces efficiency against 4c3p protein of breast cancer. Antitumor activity was screened for all compounds by a comparative view over breast, colon, and liver carcinoma cell lines. IC₅₀ values represent promising efficiency of the L⁴-VO(II) complex against breast, colon, and liver carcinoma cell lines. The binding efficiency of ligands towards CT-DNA was tested. Binding constant (K _b) values are in agreement with the electron-drawing character of the p-substituent which offers high K _b values. Also, variable Hammett's relations were drawn.

Synthesis of Pyrazolone Derivatives and Their Nanometer Ag(I) Complexes and Physicochemical, DNA Binding, Antitumor, and Theoretical Implementations

Four pyrazolone derivatives and their corresponding silver complexes were synthesized and characterized. Based on elemental analysis, 1 : 2 (M : L) molar ratio was suggested for all inspected complexes. ¹H, ¹³C NMR, mass, UV-Vis, TGA, and IR were the spectral tools used for describing the formulae. Moreover, XRD patterns and SEM pictures were used to evaluate the particle sizes which appeared strongly in nanometer range. CT-DNA study is the major consideration in this study, to test the interacting ability of all synthesized cationic complexes towards cell DNA. Each binding constant was computed and correlated with the Hammett sigma constant. Antitumor activity was examined upon three carcinoma cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2, and HCT116). The high efficiency was recorded towards MCF-7 (breast carcinoma) cell line. Kinetic studies yield essential parameters to assert on the rule of metal atom on thermal feature of organic compounds. Molecular modeling was implemented to optimize the structures of compounds. Also, molecular docking was achieved to obtain a clear view about proposed drug behavior within the affected cells. This was achieved through comparing the calculated internal energy values of all docking complexes. All the tested compounds displayed a significant interaction with breast cancer protein (strong matching with practical result) followed by DNA polymerase protein.

Copper transporters are responsible for copper isotopic fractionation in eukaryotic cells

Copper isotopic composition is altered in cancerous compared to healthy tissues. However, the rationale for this difference is yet unknown. As a model of Cu isotopic fractionation, we monitored Cu uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whose Cu import is similar to human. Wild type cells are enriched in 63Cu relative to 65Cu. Likewise, 63Cu isotope enrichment in cells without high-affinity Cu transporters is of slightly lower magnitude. In cells with compromised Cu reductase activity, however, no isotope fractionation is observed and when Cu is provided solely in reduced form for this strain, copper is enriched in 63Cu like in the case of the wild type. Our results demonstrate that Cu isotope fractionation is generated by membrane importers and that its amplitude is modulated by Cu reduction. Based on ab initio calculations, we propose that the fractionation may be due to Cu binding with sulfur-rich amino acids: methionine and cysteine. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), lower expression of the STEAP3 copper reductase and heavy Cu isotope enrichment have been reported for the tumor mass, relative to the surrounding tissue. Our study suggests that copper isotope fractionation observed in HCC could be due to lower reductase activity in the tumor.

The application of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis

With the development of life science, pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis becomes more and more important in medical science. Further studies will be hopefully established if it is possible to use inorganic elemental standards or small organic compounds in the quantitative determination of all kinds of drugs, nucleotides and sulfur or phosphorus containing peptides and proteins at appropriate concentration with an acceptable accuracy. Since 1980, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has emerged as a new and powerful analytical technique which is suitable for element and isotope analysis. It offers extremely wide detection range of element and co-analysis of most elements in the periodic table. Also, it can be applied to perform qualitative, semiquantitative, and quantitative analysis and isotopic ratios through mass-to-electric charge ratio. With the help of ICP-MS, the struggle of searching for an excellent quantification technique in, e.g. drugs and proteomics has come appreciably close to an end. This review mainly focuses on the introduction of application of ICP-MS in pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis. Some problems in application and the handling strategies are simply presented at the end.