Extraction of Triton X-100 and its determination in virus-inactivated human plasma by the solvent--detergent method

For inactivation of lipid-enveloped viruses during the production of fresh frozen and lyophilized human plasma, the solvent-detergent method was applied. In this process, the solvent tri-n-butyl phosphate is removed by extraction with castor oil. The removal of the non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 is performed by solid-phase extraction using reversed-phase supports. For this purpose, different polymer- and silica-based supports were tested. The highest capacity for Triton X-100 was achieved with C18 silica gels. These supports can bind more than 0.1 ml of Triton X-100 per ml of support. None of the proteins, e.g., clotting factors, bind to the support and therefore they pass through the column and their biological activity is hardly affected. The determination of detergent during the production process was also studied. The application of special columns allowing direct sample injection was introduced. This is a simple method for the rapid in-process determination of Triton X-100 in human plasma by reversed-phase chromatography under isocratic conditions. Using the method developed here, less than 1.0 ppm of Triton X-100 can be detected in less than 12 min without any sample pretreatment.