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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Laboratory Scale Production and Purification of a Therapeutic Antibody
Published on: January 24, 2017
Fate of antibody and polysorbate particles in a human serum model
Joachim Schuster1, Vinay Kamuju1, Roman Mathaes1
1Lonza Pharma and Biotech, Drug Product Services, Basel, Switzerland.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and excipients can degrade owing to different stress factors they encounter during their life cycle or after administration in human body. This can result in the formation of aggregates and particulates. As particles can evoke an immune response in patients, it becomes increasingly important to monitor their fate after administration. In this study, we used a protein-free serum model to assess the fate of mAb and polysorbate (PS) particles under physiologic conditions. Commonly encountered stress conditions such as pH, temperature, extrusion, and shaking were chosen to generate mAb particles. Alkaline hydrolysis was used to generate PS particles. The fate of aggregates and particles was evaluated in serum and histidine buffer. We observed that depending on the nature of stress and the environment particles are subjected to, the fate of particles can differ substantially. The mAb aggregates generated by pH stress, showed reduction in HMWS from 26% to 6% over 14 days in human serum filtrate. PS particles dissolved at 37 °C but remained unaltered in Histidine at 5 °C. Our results reinforce the need to track the fate of particles generated during drug product development upon exposure to physiologic conditions.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and excipients can degrade owing to different stress factors they encounter during their life cycle or after administration in human body. This can result in the formation of aggregates and particulates. As particles can evoke an immune response in patients, it becomes increasingly important to monitor their fate after administration. In this study, we used a protein-free serum model to assess the fate of mAb and polysorbate (PS) particles under physiologic conditions. Commonly encountered stress conditions such as pH, temperature, extrusion, and shaking were chosen to generate mAb particles. Alkaline hydrolysis was used to generate PS particles. The fate of aggregates and particles was evaluated in serum and histidine buffer. We observed that depending on the nature of stress and the environment particles are subjected to, the fate of particles can differ substantially. The mAb aggregates generated by pH stress, showed reduction in HMWS from 26% to 6% over 14 days in human serum filtrate. PS particles dissolved at 37 °C but remained unaltered in Histidine at 5 °C. Our results reinforce the need to track the fate of particles generated during drug product development upon exposure to physiologic conditions.
