Recombinant antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) are currently on the market and in development for the treatment of ophthalmologic indications. Recently, Quality by Design (QbD) initiatives have been implemented that emphasize understanding the relationship between quality attributes of the product and their impact on safety and efficacy. In particular, changes in product quality once the protein is administered to the patient are of particular interest. Knowledge of protein aggregation in vivo is of importance due to the possibility of antibody aggregates eliciting an immunogenic response in the patient. Presently, there are few analytical methods with adequate sensitivity to analyze Fab aggregates in human vitreous humor (HVH) because the Fab amount available for analysis is often quite low. Here, we report the development of a highly sensitive capillary size exclusion chromatography (SEC) methodology for Fab aggregate analysis in HVH. We demonstrate a process to perform capillary SEC to analyze Fabs with picogram sensitivity and an RSD of less than 8% for the relative peak area of high molecular weight species (HMWS). In addition, we have developed a Protein G affinity chromatography method to capture Fabs from HVH for capillary SEC analysis. Recovery efficiencies ranging from 86 to 99% were achieved using this recovery method with 300 μL HVH samples containing Fab1. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of the methodology by quantifying Fab aggregates in HVH, which can potentially be used for aggregate analysis of clinically relevant samples.
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