Non-Competitive Peak Decay Analysis Of Drugprotein Dissociation By High-Performance Affinity Chromatography

The peak decay method is an affinity chromatographic technique that has been used to examine the dissociation of solutes from immobilized ligands in the presence of excess displacing agent. However, it can be difficult to find a displacing agent that does not interfere with detection of the eluting analyte. In this study, a non-competitive peak decay method was developed in which no displacing agent was required for analyte elution. This method was evaluated for the study of drug-protein interactions by using it along with high-performance affinity chromatography to measure the dissociation rate constants for R- and S-warfarin from columns containing immobilized human serum albumin (HSA). Several factors were considered in the optimization of this method, including the amount of applied analyte, the column size, and the flow rate. The dissociation rate constants for R- and S-warfarin from HSA were measured at several temperatures by this approach, giving values of 0.56 (± 0.01) and 0.66 (± 0.01) s−1 at pH 7.4 and 37°C. These results were in good agreement with previous values obtained by other methods. This approach is not limited to warfarin and HSA but could be employed in studying additional drug-protein interactions or other systems with weak-to-moderate binding

Non-Competitive Peak Decay Analysis Of Drugprotein Dissociation By High-Performance Affinity Chromatography

The peak decay method is an affinity chromatographic technique that has been used to examine the dissociation of solutes from immobilized ligands in the presence of excess displacing agent. However, it can be difficult to find a displacing agent that does not interfere with detection of the eluting analyte. In this study, a non-competitive peak decay method was developed in which no displacing agent was required for analyte elution. This method was evaluated for the study of drug-protein interactions by using it along with high-performance affinity chromatography to measure the dissociation rate constants for R- and S-warfarin from columns containing immobilized human serum albumin (HSA). Several factors were considered in the optimization of this method, including the amount of applied analyte, the column size, and the flow rate. The dissociation rate constants for R- and S-warfarin from HSA were measured at several temperatures by this approach, giving values of 0.56 (± 0.01) and 0.66 (± 0.01) s−1 at pH 7.4 and 37°C. These results were in good agreement with previous values obtained by other methods. This approach is not limited to warfarin and HSA but could be employed in studying additional drug-protein interactions or other systems with weak-to-moderate binding

Evaluation of Alternatives to Warfarin as Probes For Sudlow Site I of Human Serum Albumin Characterization by High-Performance Affinity Chromatography

Warfarin is often used as a site-specific probe for examining the binding of drugs and other solutes to Sudlow site I of human serum albumin (HSA). However, warfarin has strong binding to HSA and the two chiral forms of warfarin have slightly different binding affinities for this protein. Warfarin also undergoes a slow change in structure when present in common buffers used for binding studies. This report examined the use of four related, achiral compounds (i.e., coumarin, 7-hydroxycoumarin, 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin, and 4-hydroxycoumarin) as possible alternative probes for Sudlow site I in drug binding studies. High-performance affinity chromatography and immobilized HSA columns were used to compare and evaluate the binding properties of these probe candidates. Binding for each of the tested probe candidates to HSA was found to give a good fit to a two-site model. The first group of sites had moderate-to-high affinities for the probe candidates with association equilibrium constants that ranged from 6.4 × 103 M−1 (coumarin) to 5.5 × 104 M−1 (4- hydroxycoumarin) at pH 7.4 and 37°C. The second group of weaker, and probably non-specific, binding regions, had association equilibrium constants that ranged from 3.8 × 101 M−1 (7-hydroxy-4- methylcoumarin) to 7.3 × 102 M−1 (coumarin). Competition experiments based on zonal elution indicated that all of these probe candidates competed with warfarin at their high affinity regions. Warfarin also showed competition with coumarin, 7-hydroxycoumarin and 7-hydroxy-4- methycoumarin for their weak affinity sites but appeared to not bind and or compete for all of the weak sites of 4-hydroxycoumarin. It was found from this group that 4-hydroxycoumarin was the best alternative to warfarin for examining the interactions of drugs at Sudlow site I on HSA. These results also provided information on how the major structural components of warfarin contribute to the binding of this drug at Sudlow site I

Antigenicity and immunogenicity of differentially glycosylated HCV E2 envelope proteins expressed in mammalian and insect cells

Development of a prophylactic vaccine for hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a global health challenge. Cumulative evidence supports the importance of antibodies targeting the HCV E2 envelope glycoprotein to facilitate viral clearance. However, a significant challenge for a B cell-based vaccine is focusing the immune response on conserved E2 epitopes capable of eliciting neutralizing antibodies not associated with viral escape. We hypothesized that glycosylation might influence the antigenicity and immunogenicity of E2. Accordingly, we performed head-to-head molecular, antigenic and immunogenic comparisons of soluble E2 (sE2) produced in (i) mammalian (HEK293) cells, which confer mostly complex and high mannose type glycans; and (ii) insect (Sf9) cells, which impart mainly paucimannose type glycans. Mass spectrometry demonstrated that all 11 predicted N-glycosylation sites were utilized in both HEK293- and Sf9-derived sE2, but that N-glycans in insect sE2 were on average smaller and less complex. Both proteins bound CD81 and were recognized by conformation-dependent antibodies. Mouse immunogenicity studies revealed that similar polyclonal antibody responses were generated against antigenic domains A–E of E2. Although neutralizing antibody titers showed that Sf9-derived sE2 induced moderately stronger responses than HEK293-derived sE2 against the homologous HCV H77c isolate, the two proteins elicited comparable neutralization titers against heterologous isolates. Given that global alteration of HCV E2 glycosylation by expression in different hosts did not appreciably affect antigenicity or overall immunogenicity, a more productive approach to increasing the antibody response to neutralizing epitopes may be complete deletion, rather than just modification, of specific N-glycans proximal to these epitopes

Clinical and pharmaceutical applications of high-performance affinity chromatography

The rate at which a drug or other small solute interacts with a protein is important in understanding the biological and pharmacokinetic behavior of these agents. One approach that has been developed for examining these rates involved the use of high-performance affinity chromatography (HPAC) and estimates of band-broadening through peak profiling. This dissertation describes an extension of peak profiling that allows a broad range of flow rates for examining solute-protein dissociation rates. Chromatographic theory was employed to derive equations for use with this approach on a single column, as well as with multiple columns to evaluate and correct for the impact of stagnant mobile phase mass transfer. The interaction of L-tryptophan with human serum albumin (HSA) demonstrated peak profiling\u27s capabilities for a model system. The methodology was then extended to more complicated systems that display binding to both immobilized HSA and support particles during passage through an HPAC column. The techniques described herein can be applied to other biomolecular systems and will be valuable for the determination of drug-protein dissociation rates. This dissertation also describes a novel high-performance immunoaffinity chromatographic method for measuring free drug fractions using a reversed displacement immunoassay (RDIA) format with near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent labels. This approach gave accurate quantitation of free phenytoin concentration in samples containing the binding protein HSA. Items considered in the design of the phenytoin RDIA included the dissociation rate of phenytoin\u27s bound fraction from HSA, the development of an immobilized phenytoin affinity microcolumn, and the preparation and behavior of labeled monoclonal antibodies (mAb) in a displacement format. In the final method, the free fraction of phenytoin displaced a proportionate quantity of labeled mAb in approximately 140 ms during sample passage through the microcolumn. RDIA using affinity microcolumns and NIR fluorescent labels offers a high throughput alternative to current free drug assays that is less prone to biological interferences. This approach is not limited to phenytoin, but can be adapted for other analytes through the use of appropriate columns and labeled antibodies

Analysis of Free Drug Fractions Using Near-Infrared Fluorescent Labels and an Ultrafast Immunoextraction/Displacement Assay

A chromatographic method was developed for measuring free drug fractions based on the use of an ultrafast immunoextraction/displacement assay (UFIDA) with near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent labels. This approach was evaluated by using it to determine the free fraction of phenytoin in serum or samples containing the binding protein human serum albumin (HSA). Items considered in the design of this method included the dissociation rate of HSA-bound phenytoin, the rate of capture of free phenytoin by immunoextraction microcolumns, the behavior of NIR fluorescent labels in a displacement format, and the overall response and stability of the resulting assay. In the final UFIDA method, the free fraction of phenytoin was extracted in approximately 100 ms by a microcolumn containing a small layer of anti-phenytoin antibodies. This gave a displacement peak for a NIRfluorescent labeled analog of phenytoin that appeared within 2−3 min of sample injection, creating a signal proportional to the amount of free phenytoin in the sample. The UFIDA method provided results within 1−5% of those determined by ultrafiltration for reference samples. The lower limit of detection was 570 pM and the linear range extended up to 10 μM. This approach is not limited to phenytoin but can be adapted for other analytes through the use of appropriate antibodies and labeled analogs

Measurement Of Drug-Protein Dissociation Rates By High-Performance Affinity Chromatography And Peak Profiling

The rate at which a drug or other small solute interacts with a protein is important in understanding the biological and pharmacokinetic behavior of these agents. One approach that has been developed for examining these rates involves the use of high-performance affinity chromatography (HPAC) and estimates of band-broadening through peak profiling. Previous work with this method has been based on a comparison of the statistical moments for a retained analyte versus non-retained species at a single, high flow rate to obtain information on stationary phase mass transfer. In this study an alternative approach was created that allows a broad range of flow rates to be used for examining solute-protein dissociation rates. Chromatographic theory was employed to derive equations that could be used with this approach on a single column, as well as with multiple columns to evaluate and correct for the impact of stagnant mobile phase mass transfer. The interaction of L-tryptophan with human serum albumin was used as a model system to test this method. A dissociation rate constant of 2.7 (± 0.2) s−1 was obtained by this approach at pH 7.4 and 37°C, which was in good agreement with previous values determined by other methods. The techniques described in this report can be applied to other biomolecular systems and should be valuable for the determination of drug-protein dissociation rates

Evaluation of Affinity Microcolumns Containing Human Serum Albumin for Rapid Analysis of Drug-protein Binding

This study examined the use of affinity microcolumns as tools for the rapid analysis and highthroughput screening of drug-protein binding. The protein used was immobilized human serum albumin (HSA) and the model analytes were warfarin and L-tryptophan, two solutes often used as site-specific probes for drug binding to Sudlow sites I and II of HSA, respectively. The use of HSA microcolumns in binding studies was examined by using both zonal elution and frontal analysis formats. The zonal elution studies were conducted by injecting the probe compounds onto HSA microcolumns of varying lengths while measuring the resulting retention factors, plate heights and peak asymmetries. A decrease in the retention factor was noted when moving from longer to shorter column lengths while using a constant amount of injected solute. However, this change could be corrected, in part, by determining the relative retention factor of a solute versus a reference compound injected onto the same microcolumn. The plate height values were relatively consistent for all column lengths and gave an expected increase at higher linear velocities. The peak asymmetries were similar for all columns up to 1 mL/min but shifted to larger values at higher flow rates and when using short microcolumns (e.g., 1 mm length). The association equilibrium constants and number of binding sites estimated by frontal analysis for warfarin with HSA were consistent at the various columns sizes that were tested and gave good agreement with previous literature values. These results confirmed affinity microcolumns provide comparable results to those obtained with longer columns and can be used in the rapid analysis of drug-protein binding and in the high-throughput screening of such interactions

DEVELOPMENT OF A FLOW-BASED ULTRAFAST IMMUNOEXTRACTION AND REVERSE DISPLACEMENT IMMUNOASSAY: ANALYSIS OF FREE DRUG FRACTIONS

A flow-based method employing a reverse displacement immunoassay was combined with ultrafast immunoextraction and near-infrared fluorescence detection for the analysis of free drug fractions, using phenytoin as a model analyte. Factors considered in the design of this method included the sample application conditions, the design of the immobilized drug analog column, the utilization of antibodies or Fab fragments as labeled binding agents, and the label application and column regeneration conditions. In the final method, sample injections led to the displacement of labeled binding agents from an immobilized phenytoin analog column. This displacement peak appeared within 20–30 s of sample injection and was proportional in size to the free phenytoin concentration in the sample. It was possible with this method to regenerate the column by using only the application of additional label between sample injections. This method was used to measure clinically-relevant concentrations of free phenytoin in serum and drug/protein mixtures and gave good correlation with ultrafiltration, while also being faster to perform and requiring significantly less sample. This technique was not limited to free phenytoin measurements but could be adapted for other drugs or analytes through the use of appropriate columns and binding agents