A Surface Plasmon Resonance-Based Integrated Assay for Quantification
and Glycosylation Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies in Crude
Heterogeneous Samples
Abstract
The rise in cancer, autoimmune, inflammatory, and infectious diseases in
recent decades has led to a surge in the development of monoclonal
antibodies (mAbs) therapies, now the most widely used family of
biologics. To meet the growing global demand, biopharmaceutical
industries are intensifying their production processes. One approach to
achieve more efficient production of effective mAbs is to develop tools
for real-time quality monitoring. Specifically, the glycosylation
profile of mAbs must be closely monitored, since it greatly impacts
their therapeutic efficacy and innocuity, making it a critical quality
attribute. In this study, we developed a surface plasmon resonance-based
integrated assay allowing for the simultaneous quantification and
glycosylation characterization of mAbs in crude samples, hence
permitting the at-line analysis of bioreactor cell cultures. Thanks to
the high specificity of the interaction between biosensor surface-bound
protein A and the Fc region of mAbs, we quantified crude IgG samples
under mass transport limitations. Next, by flowing running buffer on the
surface, impurities contained in the mAbs samples were washed away from
the biosensor surface, allowing subsequent recording of the kinetics
between the captured mAbs and injected FcγRII receptors. Of interest,
with this strategy, we were able to quantify terminal galactosylation
and core fucosylation of IgG lots, two important glycan modifications
for mAb efficacy.