Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry assay for quantification of free infliximab in serum

TNF antagonists such as infliximab are effective for the treatment of several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Recent clinical studies have advocated the importance of measuring trough infliximab levels to guide treatment decisions. We have developed a novel assay for measuring serum free infliximab levels using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The method involves the incubation of patient serum in wells coated with recombinant TNF, followed by detection with lanthanide-labeled monoclonal anti-human IgG1 and ICP-MS analysis. Full method validation was performed and results for clinical samples tested with the new method were compared with those obtained from a capture ELISA and a cell-based assay. Validation of the ICP-MS assay revealed a lower limit of detection of 0.4 μg/mL in serum. The linear range of quantitation was 1-50 μg/mL. The within-run and between-run precision had a coefficient of variation (CV) of <10%, and the accuracy of the assay had a CV of <15%. In serum samples, the ICP-MS method was devoid of analytical interferences by high levels of hemoglobin, bilirubin and triglycerides. Serum sample results from 123 drug-naïve donors revealed a test cutoff at 0.5 μg/mL. Test results from clinical samples obtained by the ICP-MS method showed strong correlation with both the ELISA and cell-based assay. The ICP-MS methodology presented in this study is a robust method for measuring TNF antagonist serum levels, which makes it well suited for therapeutic drug monitoring in the clinical laboratory.