A Novel Online Four-Dimensional SEC×SEC-IM×MS Methodology for Characterization of Monoclonal Antibody Size Variants

Anal Chem. 2018 Dec 4;90(23):13929-13937. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b03333. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Abstract

The determination of size variants is a major critical quality attribute of a therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb that may affect the drug product safety, potency, and efficacy. Size variant characterization often relies on size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), which could be hampered by difficult identification of peaks. On the other hand, mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques performed in nondenaturing conditions have proven to be valuable for mAb-related compound characterization. On the basis of the observation that limited SEC performance was observed in nondenaturing MS compatible ammonium acetate buffer compared with classical phosphate salts, a multidimensional analytical approach was proposed. It combines comprehensive online two-dimensional chromatography (SEC×SEC), with ion mobility and mass spectrometry (IM-MS) in nondenaturing conditions for the characterization of a variety of mAbs. We first exemplify the versatility of our approach for simultaneous detection, identification, and quantitation of adalimumab size variants. Benefits of the SEC×SEC-native IM×MS were further highlighted on forced degraded pembrolizumab and bevacizumab samples, for which the 4D setup was mandatory to obtain an extensive and unambiguous identification, and accurate quantitation of unexpected high/low molecular weight species (HMWS and LMWS). In this specific context, monomeric conformers were detected by IM-MS as HMWS or LMWS. Altogether, our results emphasize the power of comprehensive 2D LC×LC setups hyphenated to IM×MS in nondenaturing conditions with unprecedented performance including: (i) maintaining optimal SEC performance (under classical nonvolatile salt conditions), (ii) performing online native MS identification, and (iii) providing IM-MS conformational characterization of all separated size variants.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / analysis*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / analysis*
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / analysis*
  • Bevacizumab / analysis*
  • Chromatography, Gel
  • Mass Spectrometry

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological
  • Bevacizumab
  • pembrolizumab