Quality evaluation of commercial lyophilized human growth hormone preparations

[Recombinant granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (filgrastim): optimization of conditions of isolation and purification from inclusion body]

We developed a unified process platform for two recombinant human GCSF medicines--one with the non-prolonged and the other with prolonged action. This unified technology led to a simpler and cheaper production while introduction of the additional pegylation stage to the technological line eased obtaining of the medicines with different action and allowed to standardize technological process documenting according to GMP requirements.

Massspectrometrical analysis of recombinant human growth hormone Norditropin® reveals amino acid exchange at M14_V14 rhGH

Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is used for the treatment of several disorders. Structural integrity of rhGH is of critical importance for its clinical use and modifications thereof may act as markers in situations such as rhGH doping, as illegal rhGH-abuse in sports is of increasing interest. In the current study we investigated homogeneity of Norditropin, a recombinant human growth hormone frequently used in medicine, expressed in E. coli, strain MC1061. The most recent proteomics technologies including 2-DE, MALDI-MS followed by MALDI-MS/MS and LC-MS followed by LC-MS/MS were used for the characterisation of rhGH. MALDI-TOF-TOF and electrospray LC-MS analysis revealed one major protein with an average molecular mass of 22 126.0 Da and some additional minor components. Electrospray LC-MS/MS of the enzymatically digested Norditropin sample showed deamidation of N(12)N(149) and N(159), oxidation of M(14), M(125) and M(170) and one amino acid exchange V(14) for M(14) present in <1% of Norditropin. While deamidation and oxidation may be due to technical reasons, the single amino acid exchange may reflect infidelity of translation rather than codon usage and copy editing by E. coli.

Application of dynamic laser scattering to the quality control of injectable drugs: polymer formation in ampicillin solution

OBJECTIVE

To assess the usefulness of dynamic laser scattering for monitoring the stability of ampicillin after reconstitution from commercially available vials with respect to the polymer formation and potency.

METHODS

Polymer formation and the remaining potency of the reconstituted ampicillin solution were estimated using dynamic laser scattering and high-performance liquid chromatography.

RESULTS

The laser light-scattering submicron particle analyser was sufficiently sensitive for detecting both monomer and polymer aggregates with the average diameter of 1.1 +/- 0.2 and 7.3 +/- 1.7 nm, respectively, in the ampicillin solution. Polymer formation was dependent on both the storage temperature and the storage period, but it was detected, even when no precipitates were visible and when loss of potency was less than 10% of the initial value following storage at 4 or -15 degrees C.

CONCLUSION

Submicron particle analysis using scanning electron microscopy, when used in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography, provides a useful method for studying polymer formation in antibiotic solutions and for the quality control of antibiotic injections during storage.