Trends in Process Analytical Technology: Present State in Bioprocessing.

Process analytical technology (PAT), the regulatory initiative for incorporating quality in pharmaceutical manufacturing, is an area of intense research and interest. If PAT is effectively applied to bioprocesses, this can increase process understanding and control, and mitigate the risk from substandard drug products to both manufacturer and patient. To optimize the benefits of PAT, the entire PAT framework must be considered and each elements of PAT must be carefully selected, including sensor and analytical technology, data analysis techniques, control strategies and algorithms, and process optimization routines. This chapter discusses the current state of PAT in the biopharmaceutical industry, including several case studies demonstrating the degree of maturity of various PAT tools. Graphical Abstract Hierarchy of QbD components.

Monitoring mammalian cell cultivations for monoclonal antibody production using near-infrared spectroscopy.

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a process monitoring and process supervision technique is reviewed in the context of biomanufacturing.An industrial pilot-plant mammalian cell cultivation process has been chosen to illustrate the use of on-line in-situ NIR monitoring by means of an immersion transflectance NIR probe.NIR calibration development must be performed carefully and should incorporate a number of steps to obtain a properly validated model which exhibits long-term robustness and is independent of process scale. A description of such good modelling practises is given. In general, NIR can be as accurate as the reference methods employed and at least as precise provided that sufficient spectral selectivity and sensitivity exists.NIR can also be used as a direct technique for very fast process monitoring and process supervision, thus enabling one to follow the trajectory of a process. This alternative to the indirect use of NIR through laborious calibration development with direct reference methods has been little explored. Since NIR is sensitive to both chemical and physical properties, the analysis of whole samples enables relevant process information to be captured and thus generates better process state estimates than by simply looking at defined process parameters one at a time.

Dynamic response of the expression of hxt1, hxt5 and hxt7 transport proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to perturbations in the extracellular glucose concentration.

Glucose transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae relies on a multi-factorial uptake system. The modulation of its efficiency depends on the differential expression of various sets of hexose transport-related proteins whose glucose affinity differs considerably. The expression of three different glucose transport proteins (HXT1, HXT5 and HXT6/7 with low-, intermediate- and high-affinity, respectively) was monitored as a result of modified extracellular glucose concentrations. Cultivation at glucose-limited (continuous) conditions was instantly replaced by a batch (and thus, non-limited) mode. Further, to mimic concentration gradients in large-scale production bioreactors, multiple and rapid transient glucose pulses were applied to chemostat cultivation. Antibodies against the HXT-proteins were used to monitor the proteins' expression levels prior to and after perturbing the external glucose concentrations. HXT5 and HXT6/7 were either expressed during the starvation-like steady-state phases in the chemostat cultivations, whereas HXT1 could not be detected at all. HXT1, however, is subsequently expressed during the excess of glucose in the batch mode, while the HXT5 and HXT6/7 transporters were at least found to decline. These findings coincide well with the transporters' affinity profiles. As a result of repeated and rapid transient glucose pulses during continuous fermentation, especially HXT6/7 pointed out to alter the protein expression pattern.

A highly stable polyethylene glycol-conjugated human single-chain antibody neutralizing granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor at low nanomolar concentration.

GM-CSF (granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor) plays a central role in inflammatory processes. Treatment with antibodies neutralizing murine GM-CSF showed significant therapeutic effects in mouse models of inflammatory diseases. We constructed by phage display technology a human scFv, which could potently neutralize human GM-CSF. At first, a human V(L) repertoire was combined with the V(H) domain of a parental GM-CSF-neutralizing rat antibody. One dominant rat/human scFv clone was selected, neutralizing human GM-CSF with an IC50 of 7.3 nM. The human V(L) of this clone was then combined with a human V(H) repertoire. The latter preserved the CDR 3 of the parental rat V(H) domain to retain binding specificity. Several human scFvs were selected, which neutralized human GM-CSF at low nanomolar concentrations (IC50 > or = 2.6 nM). To increase serum half-life, a branched 40 kDa PEG-polymer was coupled to the most potent GM-CSF-neutralizing scFv (3077) via an additional C-terminal cysteine. PEG conjugation had a negligible effect on the in vitro neutralizing potential of the scFv, although it caused a significant drop in binding affinity owing to a reduced on-rate. It also significantly increased the stability of the scFv at elevated temperatures. In mouse experiments, the PEGylated scFv 3077 showed a significantly prolonged elimination half-life of 59 h as compared with 2 h for the unconjugated scFv version. PEGylated scFv 3077 is a potential candidate for development of a novel antibody therapy to treat pro-inflammatory human diseases.

New bioreactor-coupled rapid stopped-flow sampling technique for measurements of metabolite dynamics on a subsecond time scale.

Knowledge of concentrations of intracellular metabolites is important for quantitative analysis of metabolic networks. As far as the very fast response of intracellular metabolites in the millisecond range is concerned, the frequently used pulse technique shows an inherent limitation. The time span between the disturbance and the first sample is constrained by the time necessary to obtain a homogeneous distribution of the pertubation within the bioreactor. For determination of rapid changes, a novel sampling technique based on the stopped-flow method has been developed. A continuous stream of biosuspension leaving the bioreactor is being mixed with a glucose solution in a turbulent mixing chamber. Through computer-aided activation of sequentially positioned three-way valves, different residence times and thus reaction times can be verified. The application of this new sampling method is illustrated with examples including measurements of adenine nucleotides and glucose-6-phosphate in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as measurements related to the PTS system in Escherichia coli.

Determination of in vivo kinetics of the starvation-induced Hxt5 glucose transporter of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have investigated the role and the kinetic properties of the Hxt5 glucose transporter of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The HXT5 gene was not expressed during growth of the yeast cells in rich medium with glucose or raffinose. However, it became strongly induced during nitrogen or carbon starvation. We have constructed yeast strains constitutively expressing only Hxt5, Hxt1 (low affinity) or Hxt7 (high affinity), but no other glucose transporters. Aerobic fed-batch cultures at quasi steady-state conditions, and aerobic and anaerobic chemostat cultures at steady-state conditions of these strains were used for estimation of the kinetic properties of the individual transporters under in vivo conditions, by investigating the dynamic responses of the strains to changes in extracellular glucose concentration. The K(m) value and the growth properties of the HXT5 single expression strain indicate that Hxt5 is a transporter with intermediate affinity.