Stability and surface activity of lactate dehydrogenase in spray-dried trehalose

The stability of the model protein lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) during spray-drying and also on subsequent dry storage was examined. Trehalose was used as a carrier. The spray-drying temperatures Tinlet and Toutlet have a measurable effect on LDH inactivation. Low Tinlet produced the least process inactivation, but gave a high residual moisture content making the protein's storage stability poor. High Tinlet reduced residual moisture and improved storage stability, but at the cost of high process inactivation. As already found for other systems, addition of a surfactant (in this case polysorbate 80) could ameliorate process inactivation of LDH at Tinlet = 150 degreesC. Surfactant had, however, a deleterious effect on storage stability of LDH, the vital factor being the molar ratio of surfactant/protein in the dried product. By using electron spectroscopy it was shown that LDH has a 10 times higher surface concentration in the dried trehalose particles than expected for a homogeneous distribution. Surface tension measurements at the water/air interface proved that LDH is surface active, although the Gibbs equation appeared to be inapplicable. Calculations of spray-droplet formation time and drying time indicate than the extent of diffusion-driven LDH adsorption to the liquid/air interface is sufficient to account for the measured amount of LDH inactivation during spray-drying. The presence of 0.1% polysorbate 80 to the spray solution prevents LDH from appearing at the surface of the dried particles. As a negative control, the phosphatide Lipoid E 80 does not prevent the appearance of LDH in the surface according to electron spectroscopy and does not therefore prevent LDH inactivation during spray-drying at Tinlet = 150 degreesC.