Rapid development of multiple 'fit-for-purpose' assays on an automatic microfluidic system using a streamlined process in support of early biotherapeutics discovery programs

Use of a Microfluidic Platform To Evaluate and Predict Reagent Performance in Microtiter Plate-Based Immunoassays

Selection and characterization of antibodies are critically important in establishing robust immunoassays to support the development efforts of vaccines. Plate-based ELISA can be time- and resource-intensive to select initial antibody clones or characterize downstream resupply lots while providing limited information regarding the binding characteristics of the antibodies beyond concentration-response curves. This work applied the microfluidic Gyrolab to holistically evaluate immunoassay reagents through analyses of concentration-response curves as well as antibody-antigen interactions visualized in column images and affinity estimates. We exploited the automation capability of the Gyrolab to reduce the resources (time, reagents, and scientists) required for screening and evaluating antibody reagents. Using a flexible semi-universal assay format, we compared antibody clones for selection and resupply lots of sera and monoclonal antibodies in a simple "plug-and-play" manner without antibody modifications. We found that the performance of antibodies in the Gyrolab correlated well with the trends observed in traditional ELISAs, while the Gyrolab provided additional advantages over plate-based assays such as column images of antibody binding and affinity measurements.

A semi-universal assay platform to quantitate vaccines with potential applications for biotherapeutics

AIM

Biologics development often requires multiple immunoassays to evaluate both assay reagents and potential drug candidates resulting in extensive analytical development.

METHODOLOGY

We developed a semi-universal, 5-layer platform assay on Gyrolab using secondary antispecies or anti-isotype-specific capture and detection antibodies. We applied the assay to several multivalent vaccines.

RESULTS

Method performance exhibited a median accuracy of 110%, reproducibility of 9% CV and intermediate precision of 11% CV. System suitability criteria were met for 92.5% of the samples and only one out of 31 replicate samples exhibited a %CV greater than 20%.

CONCLUSION

The semi-universal Gyrolab assay allowed assay development without reagent labeling. The format could also be translated into a plate-based assay.

Challenges in selectivity, specificity and quantitation range of ligand-binding assays: case studies using a microfluidics platform

Background: Method developers of plate-based ligand-binding assays (LBAs) often face challenges establishing selectivity, specificity and range of quantitation to meet the needs of a particular study. Case studies are presented to compare different ligand-binding immunoassay platforms (plate-based vs microfluidic system) in method development to support pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies. Results: Studies highlight the challenges of plate-based LBAs to establish selectivity, specificity and range of quantitation as a result of nonspecific background signal, matrix interference, lack of linearity and drug interference. The fast assay kinetics of a microfluidic immunoassay system was shown to generally reduce nonspecific background and matrix effects, while increasing assay linear range and drug tolerance. Conclusion: The short incubation times with microfluidics can be beneficial for LBAs burdened by matrix effects and in these cases had superior assay performance compared with widely used immunoassay platforms in bioanalysis, for example, Meso Scale Discovery® and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Assay formats: Recommendation for best practices and harmonization from the global bioanalysis consortium harmonization team

As part of the GBC (Global Bioanalysis Consortium), the L3 assay format team has focused on reviewing common platforms used to support ligand binding assays in the detection of biotherapeutics. The following review is an overview of discussions and presentations from around the globe with a group of experts from different companies to allow an international harmonization of common practices and suggestions for different platforms. Some of the major platforms include Gyrolab, Erenna, RIA, AlphaLISA, Delfia, Immuno-PCR, Luminex, BIAcore, and ELISAs. The review is meant to support bioanalysts in taking decisions between different platforms depending on the needs of the analyte with a number of recommendations to help integration of platforms into a GLP environment.