Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by real-time PCR under challenging pre-analytical conditions reveals independence of swab media and cooling chain.

With global demand for SARS-CoV-2 testing ever rising, shortages in commercially available viral transport media pose a serious problem for laboratories and health care providers. For reliable diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, executed by Real-time PCR, the quality of respiratory specimens, predominantly determined by transport and storage conditions, is crucial. Therefore, our aim was to explore the reliability of minimal transport media, comprising saline or the CDC recommended Viral Transport Media (HBSS VTM), for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses (influenza A, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, rhinovirus and human metapneumovirus) compared to commercial products, such as the Universal Transport Media (UTM). We question the assumptions, that the choice of medium and temperature for storage and transport affect the accuracy of viral detection by RT-PCR. Both alternatives to the commercial transport medium (UTM), HBSS VTM or saline, allow adequate detection of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, regardless of storage temperatures up to 28 °C and storage times up to 28 days. Our study revealed the high resilience of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, enabling proper detection in clinical specimens even after long-time storage at high temperatures, independent of the transport medium's composition.

Evaluation of Transport Media and Specimen Transport Conditions for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by Use of Real-Time Reverse Transcription-PCR.

The global coronavirus (CoV) disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a worldwide shortage of viral transport media and raised questions about specimen stability. The objective of this study was to determine the stability of severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in specimen transport media under various storage conditions. Transport media tested included UTM, UTM-RT, ESwab, M4, and saline (0.9% NaCl). Specimen types tested included nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs in the above-named transport media, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, and sputum. A high-titer SARS-CoV-2 remnant patient specimen was spiked into pooled SARS-CoV-2 RNA-negative specimen remnants for the various medium types. Aliquots of samples were stored at 18°C to 26°C, 2°C to 8°C, and -10°C to -30°C and then tested at time points up to 14 days. Specimens consistently yielded amplifiable RNA with mean cycle threshold differences of <3 over the various conditions assayed, thus supporting the use and transport of alternative collection media and specimen types under a variety of temperature storage conditions.

Analytical tools for monitoring changes in physical and chemical properties of chromatography resin upon reuse.

Protein A resins are often reused for multiple cycles to improve process economy during mAb purification. Significant reduction in binding capacity and product recovery are typically observed due to the presence of unwanted materials (foulants) deposited on the resin upon reuse. In this paper, we have used a wide spectrum of qualitative and quantitative analytical tools (particle size analysis, HPLC, fluorescence, SEM, MS, and FTIR) to compare the strengths and shortcomings of different analytical tools in terms of their capability to detect the fouling of the resin and relate it to chromatographic cycle performance. While each tool offers an insight into this complex phenomena, fluorescence is the only one that can be used for real-time monitoring of resin fouling. A correlation could be established between fluorescence intensity and the process performance attributes (like yield or binding capacity) impacted upon resin reuse. This demonstration of the application of fluorescence for real-time monitoring correlated empirically with process performance attributes and the results support its use as a PAT tool as part of a process control strategy. While the focus of this paper is on fouling of protein A chromatography resin, the approach and strategy are pertinent to other modes of chromatography as well.

Expanding the applicability of the amino acid derivative reactivity assay: Determining a weight for preparation of test chemical solutions that yield a predictive capacity identical to the conventional method using molar concentration and demonstrating the capacity to detect sensitizers in liquid mixtures.

INTRODUCTION: The amino acid derivative reactivity assay (ADRA) is a novel in chemico alternative to animal testing for assessment of skin sensitization potential. The conventional ADRA protocol stipulates that test chemical solutions should be prepared to a specific molar concentration, allowing only for use of test chemicals with known molecular weights. Since many potential test substances are prepared by weight concentration or contain multiple unknown chemicals, this study was conducted to verify if it is possible to accurately assess the sensitization potential of test chemical solutions prepared at a specific weight concentration. METHODS: (1) Test chemical solutions for 82 chemicals were prepared at four different weight concentrations. Results were evaluated for agreement with in vivo results. (2) A liquid mixture comprising ten different non-sensitizers was prepared at 1 mg/mL. Ten different sensitizers of varying sensitization potencies were added individually to this mixture. The resulting pseudobinary mixtures were tested to confirm that the sensitizers could be detected. RESULTS: (1) The accuracies for test chemical solutions prepared at 0.5 and 0.2 mg/mL were 87.8% and 86.6%, respectively, which were roughly equivalent to the accuracy of 86.6% achieved with a solution prepared at the conventional molar concentration of 1 mM. In contrast, the accuracies for solutions prepared at 0.1 and 0.05 mg/mL were 82.9% and 74.4%, respectively, both of which were lower than that obtained with the conventional method. (2) Sensitizers added to the liquid mixture at 0.5 mg/mL were all correctly detected. DISCUSSION: Preparing test chemical solutions at a weight concentration of 0.5 mg/mL decreased false negatives and increased false positives while improving prediction accuracy, which suggests that the sensitization potential of mixtures can also be assessed with this method.

Chemometric approach to correlations between retention parameters of non-polar HPLC columns and physicochemical characteristics for ampholytic substances of biological and pharmaceutical relevance.

The correlations between the retention parameters of forty ampholytic, biologically active and/or pharmaceutically relevant substances (obtained for three non-polar HPLC columns at various compositions of mobile phases and pH conditions: 2.5, 7.0, 11.5) and their thirty-two physicochemical (calculated/spectral) characteristics were investigated by applying chemometric methods of analysis. In three cases (among seven cases considered), Quantitative Property-Retention Relation (QPRR) models meeting the predictive capability criteria were developed (the values of R2, Q2CV, Q2Ext were higher than 0.76, 0.66 and 0.67, respectively, while values of RMSEC, RMSECV and RMSEExt were lower than 0.51, 0.65 and 0.65 in each developed model). These models create a useful platform for predicting retention parameters of untested chemicals and, to some extent, gaining pharmaceutically valuable information on the biologically active ampholytic substances based on their properties and the conditions of chromatographic separation.

Development of a novel affinity chromatography resin for platform purification of lambda fabs.

Antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) are novel formats in the growing pipeline of biotherapeutics. Sharing similar features to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with regard to expression, Fabs are considered as unchallenging for upstream development. Yet for downstream processing, the mature mAb downstream purification platform is not directly applicable. New approaches need to be found to achieve a lean purification process that maintains quality, productivity, and timelines while being generically applicable independent of the expression system. In a successful collaboration, BAC BV, GE Healthcare, and Novartis Pharma AG have developed a new affinity chromatography medium (resin) suitable to support cGMP manufacturing of lambda Fabs. We show that using this novel chromatography medium for the capture step, a purification platform for lambda Fabs can be established.

Enrichment and purification of six Aconitum alkaloids from Aconiti kusnezoffii radix by macroporous resins and quantification by HPLC-MS.

Aconitine, mesaconitine, hypaconitine, benzoylaconine, benzoylmesaconine and benzoylhypaconine are six main Aconitum alkaloids from traditional Chinese medicine, Aconiti kusnezoffii radix, which possess highly bioactive as well as highly toxic character for medicinal use. In the present study, for the purpose of better utilizing the toxic herbal material, the performance characteristics of NKA-II, D101, X-5, AB-8, S-8, HPD722 and HPD750 macroporous resins for the enrichment and purification of these six Aconitum alkaloids were critically evaluated. Results showed that NKA-II offered the best adsorption and desorption capacities for six Aconitum alkaloids among the seven macroporous resins tested, which were affected significantly by the pH value. Subsequently, dynamic adsorption and desorption experiments had been carried out with the column packed by NKA-II resin to optimize the separation process of six Aconitum alkaloids. After one run treatment with NKA-II resin, the content of total six Aconitum alkaloids were increased from 5.87% to 60.3%, the recovery was 75.8%. Meanwhile, a validated HPLC-MS method had been developed to qualitative and quantitative these six Aconitum alkaloids. This method would provide scientific references to the large-scale production of six Aconitum alkaloids from Aconiti kusnezoffii radix or other plants and might also expand the secure application of these highly toxic components for pharmacy.

Characterization of hindered amine light stabilizers employing capillary electrophoresis coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

In the current work, a fast and reliable CE method for characterizing of six hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS), technical products commonly employed as UV-stabilizing agents for various polymeric materials, is presented. These compounds can be monomeric or oligomeric species whereby there is no or only limited information available concerning purity or actual structural composition of the respective stabilizer. Using a BGE based on formic acid with 10% acetonitrile, different constituents of several HALS could be separated by CE and identified employing QTOF/MS detection. In the case of Cyasorb 3529, ten different oligomers were discovered and possible structures were suggested based on exact mass measurements. The majority of the elucidated structures is not fully congruent with the information provided by the manufacturers. Furthermore, in the case of Chimassorb 119 and Tinuvin 770 impurities or unreacted compounds remaining from the manufacturing process could be identified. Besides performing such basic characterizations of technical grade HALS, the presented method is also shown to be suitable for a reliable identification of these stabilizers in real polymer samples.

A novel gigaporous GSH affinity medium for high-speed affinity chromatography of GST-tagged proteins.

Novel GSH-AP (phenoxyl agarose coated gigaporous polystyrene, Agap-co-PSt) microspheres were successfully prepared by introducing GSH ligand into hydrophilic AP microspheres pre-activated with 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether. The gigaporous structure and chromatographic properties of GSH-AP medium were evaluated and compared with commercial GSH Sepharose FF (GSH-FF) medium. The macropores (100-500nm) of gigaporous PSt microspheres were well maintained after coating with agarose and functionalized with GSH ligand. Hydrodynamic experiments showed that GSH-AP column had less backpressure and plate height than those of GSH-FF column at high flow velocity, which was beneficial for its use in high-speed chromatography. The presence of flow-through pores in GSH-AP microspheres also accelerated the mass transfer rate of biomolecules induced by convective flow, leading to high protein resolution and high dynamic binding capacity (DBC) of glutathione S-transferase (GST) at high flow velocity. High purity of GST and GST-tagged recombinant human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (rhIL-1RA) were obtained from crude extract with an acceptable recovery yield within 1.5min at a velocity up to 1400cm/h. GSH-AP medium is promising for high-speed affinity chromatography for the purification of GST and GST-tagged proteins.

Use of novel phenyl-hexyl core-shell particles in nano-LC.

This paper reports the use of novel phenyl-hexyl core-shell particles packed into fused silica capillaries in nano-LC. Capillary columns of different id of 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 µm were packed employing the slurry packing method. The columns were used for the separation of a model mixture containing five aromatic hydrocarbons. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, n-propylbenzene, and n-butylbenzene were separated utilizing an isocratic elution mode. Mixtures of water/ACN at different ratio were studied to find optimal experimental conditions for baseline separation of all sample components. As expected with this novel stationary phase, an RP chromatographic mechanism was observed. A mixture of water/ACN, 30:70, v/v allowed the complete resolution of the studied analytes. Efficiency increased by decreasing the capillary id recording the highest number of plates per meter with capillaries of 25 µm id. The decrease of the column id also resulted in a flatter dependence of the plate numbers on the linear flow rate of the mobile phase allowing the increase of the flow rate of the mobile phase without significant decrease of efficiency.

Caution on the storage of waters and aqueous solutions in plastic containers for hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope analysis.

RATIONALE: The choice of containers for storage of aqueous samples between their collection, transport and water hydrogen ((2)H) and oxygen ((18)O) stable isotope analysis is a topic of concern for a wide range of fields in environmental, geological, biomedical, food, and forensic sciences. The transport and separation of water molecules during water vapor or liquid uptake by sorption or solution and the diffusive transport of water molecules through organic polymer material by permeation or pervaporation may entail an isotopic fractionation. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the extent of such fractionation. METHODS: Sixteen bottle-like containers of eleven different organic polymers, including low and high density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and perfluoroalkoxy-Teflon (PFA), of different wall thickness and size were completely filled with the same mineral water and stored for 659 days under the same conditions of temperature and humidity. Particular care was exercised to keep the bottles tightly closed and prevent loss of water vapor through the seals. RESULTS: Changes of up to +5‰ for δ(2)H values and +2.0‰ for δ(18)O values were measured for water after more than 1 year of storage within a plastic container, with the magnitude of change depending mainly on the type of organic polymer, wall thickness, and container size. The most important variations were measured for the PET and PC bottles. Waters stored in glass bottles with Polyseal™ cone-lined PP screw caps and thick-walled HDPE or PFA containers with linerless screw caps having an integrally molded inner sealing ring preserved their original δ(2)H and δ(18)O values. The carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen stable isotope compositions of the organic polymeric materials were also determined. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study clearly show that for precise and accurate measurements of the water stable isotope composition in aqueous solutions, rigorous sampling and storage procedures are needed both for laboratory standards and for unknown samples.

Matrix assisted ionization: new aromatic and nonaromatic matrix compounds producing multiply charged lipid, peptide, and protein ions in the positive and negative mode observed directly from surfaces.

Matrix assisted inlet ionization (MAII) is a method in which a matrix:analyte mixture produces mass spectra nearly identical to electrospray ionization without the application of a voltage or the use of a laser as is required in laserspray ionization (LSI), a subset of MAII. In MAII, the sample is introduced by, for example, tapping particles of dried matrix:analyte into the inlet of the mass spectrometer and, therefore, permits the study of conditions pertinent to the formation of multiply charged ions without the need of absorption at a laser wavelength. Crucial for the production of highly charged ions are desolvation conditions to remove matrix molecules from charged matrix:analyte clusters. Important factors affecting desolvation include heat, vacuum, collisions with gases and surfaces, and even radio frequency fields. Other parameters affecting multiply charged ion production is sample preparation, including pH and solvent composition. Here, findings from over 100 compounds found to produce multiply charged analyte ions using MAII with the inlet tube set at 450 °C are presented. Of the compounds tested, many have -OH or -NH(2) functionality, but several have neither (e.g., anthracene), nor aromaticity or conjugation. Binary matrices are shown to be applicable for LSI and solvent-free sample preparation can be applied to solubility restricted compounds, and matrix compounds too volatile to allow drying from common solvents. Our findings suggest that the physical properties of the matrix such as its morphology after evaporation of the solvent, its propensity to evaporate/sublime, and its acidity are more important than its structure and functional groups.

Comparison of amino acid derivatization reagents for LC-ESI-MS analysis. Introducing a novel phosphazene-based derivatization reagent.

Amino acid analysis with high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) is an emerging method. For more sensitive analysis, derivatization is used and next to commercially available derivatization reagents such as dansyl chloride (DNS), 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC-Cl) and diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate (DEEMM), new derivatization reagents are designed specially for LC-ESI-MS, like p-N,N,N-trimethylammonioanilyl N'-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate iodide (TAHS) which provides very low limits of detection. In this work, a novel phosphazene based derivatization reagent (FOSF) that provides comparable limits of quantitation (LoQ) to TAHS is introduced. Moreover, a thorough comparison between FOSF, TAHS, DNS, FMOC-Cl and DEEMM is carried out for 7 different amino acids - Arg, Asp, Gly, ß-Ala, Pro, Trp and Phe. This is a first time that thorough comparison is carried out on the same instrument for amino acid derivatization reagents. Results on the same instrument for five amino acid derivatization reagents show that novel reagents are sensitive with LoQ values around 80 fmol but have disadvantages such as problematic chromatographic separation. Next to novel reagents, DEEMM offers very good LoQ-s (average of 150 fmol) and wide dynamic linear range.

Isolation of brefeldin A from Eupenicillium brefeldianum broth using macroporous resin adsorption chromatography.

Brefeldin A (BFA) is a macrolide lactone antibiotic, possessing antitumor, antiviral, antifungal activities. In this work, a separation strategy involving one-step macroporous resin adsorption chromatography combined with crystallization was established for BFA purification from Eupenicillium brefeldianum CCTCC M 208113 fermentation broth. Among six macroporous resin adsorbents tested, the non-polar resin HZ830 had the best adsorption and desorption performance. The static equilibrium adsorption data fitted well with the Freundlich equation, and the adsorption kinetic followed the pseudo-second order model. Through experimental optimization of column adsorption and desorption, BFA in purity of 90.4% (w/w), 92.1% (w/w) yield was obtained by a one-step macroporous resin adsorption chromatography, using a stepwise elution protocol. Furthermore, high purity (>99%, w/w) of BFA crystals were prepared from E. brefeldianum CCTCC M 208113 fermentation broth in an overall recovery of 67.0% (w/w), using a combination of adsorption chromatography packed with non-polar macroporous adsorbent HZ830 and crystallization in acetone.

Matrix elimination ion chromatography method for the determination of trace levels of anionic impurities in high purity cesium iodide.

In the present study an ion chromatographic method based on matrix elimination has been developed for the determination of anionic impurities in high purity cesium iodide crystals. The presence of impurities has a detrimental effect on the characteristics of detectors based on cesium iodide crystals. In particular, oxygen-containing anions inhibit the resolving power of scintillators and decrease the optical absorption. The quantitative determination of anions (fluoride, chloride, bromide, nitrate, phosphate, and sulphate) simultaneously in the high-purity cesium iodide crystals has not been carried out before. The large concentration of iodide poses a challenge in the determination of anions (especially phosphate and sulphate); hence, matrix elimination is accomplished by adopting a sample pretreatment technique. The method is validated for linearity, accuracy, and precision. The limit of detection for different anions is in the range of 0.3-3 µg/g, and the relative standard deviation is in the range of 4-6% for the overall method.

Effects of pH and temperature on the chromatographic performance and stability of immobilized poly(methyloctylsiloxane) stationary phases.

The effects of mobile phase pH, temperature, buffer type and buffer concentration on the selectivity and stability of four stationary phases, with different PMOS loadings, prepared by the thermal immobilization of poly(methyloctylsiloxane) on to silica (PMOS-SiO2), were evaluated with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic basic solutes. These solutes show longer retention times at near neutral pH, where both the silanols and the basic solutes are partially ionized, and shorter retention times in more alkaline pH, where the silanols are mostly ionized and the basic solutes are not ionized. Increases in temperature and buffer concentration also result in shorter retention times. These PMOS-SiO2 stationary phases are quite stable at low pH and are also stable at ambient temperature (23 °C) using pH 7 phosphate. The PMOS-SiO2 stationary phases are more stable at higher pH using triethylamine (pH 11) and borate (pH 10) buffers than with phosphate and carbonate buffers. Temperature increases stationary phase degradation, while buffer concentration has a minimal effect on stationary phase degradation, indicating that these PMOS-SiO2 stationary phases have stabilities similar to the equivalent chemically bonded phases.

Improving affinity chromatography resin efficiency using semi-continuous chromatography.

Protein A affinity chromatography is widely used for purification of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) from harvested cell culture fluid (HCCF). At the manufacturing scale, the HCCF is typically loaded on a single Protein A affinity chromatography column in cycles until all of the HCCF is processed. Protein A resin costs are significant, comprising a substantial portion of the raw material costs in MAb manufacturing. Cost can be reduced by operating the process continuously using multiple smaller columns to a higher binding capacity in lieu of one industrial scale column. In this study, a series of experiments were performed using three 1-ml Hi-Trap™ MabSelect SuRe™ columns on a modified ÄKTA™ system operated according to the three Column Periodic Counter Current Chromatography (3C PCC) principle. The columns were loaded individually at different times until the 70% breakthrough point was achieved. The HCCF with unbound protein from the column was then loaded onto the next column to capture the MAb, preventing any protein loss. At any given point, all three columns were in operation, either loading or washing, enabling a reduction in processing time. The product yield and quality were evaluated and compared with a batch process to determine the effect of using the three column continuous process. The continuous operation shows the potential to reduce both resin volume and buffer consumption by ∼40%, however the system hardware and the process is more complex than the batch process. Alternative methods using a single standard affinity column, such as recycling load effluent back to the tank or increasing residence time, were also evaluated to improve Protein A resin efficiency. These alternative methods showed similar cost benefits but required longer processing time.

Selection of stationary phase particle geometry using X-ray computed tomography and computational fluid dynamics simulations.

The X-ray computed tomography (CT) is used to determine local parameters related to the column packing homogeneity and hydrodynamics in columns packed with spherically and irregularly shaped particles of same size. The results showed that the variation of porosity and axial dispersion coefficient along the column axis is insignificant, compared to their radial distribution. The methodology of using the data attained by CT measurements to perform a CFD simulation of a batch separation of model binary mixtures, with different concentration and separation factors is demonstrated. The results of the CFD simulation study show that columns packed with spherically shaped particles provide higher yield in comparison to columns packed with irregularly shaped particles only below a certain value of the separation factor. The presented methodology can be used for selecting a suited packing material for a particular separation task.

Structure of micelle-bound adrenomedullin: a first step toward the analysis of its interactions with receptors and small molecules.

Adrenomedullin (AM) is a regulatory peptide which plays many physiological roles including vasodilatation, bronchodilatation, hormone secretion regulation, growth, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and antimicrobial activities, among others. These regulatory activities make AM a relevant player in the pathophysiology of important diseases such as cardiovascular and renal conditions, cancer, and diabetes. Therefore, molecules that target the AM system have been proposed as having therapeutic potential. To guide the design and characterization of such molecules, we elucidated the three-dimensional structure of AM in a membrane mimicking medium using NMR spectroscopy methods. Under the employed experimental conditions, the structure can be described as composed by a central α-helical region, spanning about one third of its total length, flanked by two disordered segments at both N- and C-termini. The structure of AM in water is completely disordered. The 22-34 region of AM has a general tendency to adopt a helical structure under the employed experimental conditions. Furthermore, the study of the interaction of AM with two of its modulators has also been performed by using chemical shift perturbation analysis NMR methods with two-dimensional (2D)-TOCSY experiments, assisted with molecular modeling protocols. We expect these results will help in better understanding the interactions of AM with its receptor and binding proteins/molecules and in the development of novel modulators of AM activities.