Increasing storage stability of freeze-dried plasma using trehalose

PLoS One. 2020 Jun 11;15(6):e0234502. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234502. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Preservation of blood plasma in the dried state would facilitate long-term storage and transport at ambient temperatures, without the need of to use liquid nitrogen tanks or freezers. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of dry preservation of human plasma, using sugars as lyoprotectants, and evaluate macromolecular stability of plasma components during storage. Blood plasma from healthy donors was freeze dried using 0-10% glucose, sucrose, or trehalose, and stored at various temperatures. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to measure the glass transition temperatures of freeze-dried samples. Protein aggregation, the overall protein secondary structure, and oxidative damage were studied under different storage conditions. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements showed that plasma freeze-dried with glucose, sucrose and trehalose have glass transition temperatures of respectively 72±3.4°C, 46±11°C, 15±2.4°C. It was found that sugars diminish freeze-drying induced protein aggregation in a dose-dependent manner, and that a 10% (w/v) sugar concentration almost entirely prevents protein aggregation. Protein aggregation after rehydration coincided with relatively high contents of β-sheet structures in the dried state. Trehalose reduced the rate of protein aggregation during storage at elevated temperatures, and plasma that is freeze- dried plasma with trehalose showed a reduced accumulation of reactive oxygen species and protein oxidation products during storage. In conclusion, freeze-drying plasma with trehalose provides an attractive alternative to traditional cryogenic preservation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Blood Proteins / chemistry
  • Blood Proteins / metabolism*
  • Drug Stability
  • Drug Storage
  • Freeze Drying
  • Humans
  • Plasma / chemistry*
  • Preservation, Biological / methods*
  • Preservatives, Pharmaceutical / chemistry*
  • Protein Aggregates
  • Protein Conformation, beta-Strand
  • Protein Stability
  • Transition Temperature
  • Trehalose / chemistry*
  • Vitrification

Substances

  • Blood Proteins
  • Preservatives, Pharmaceutical
  • Protein Aggregates
  • Trehalose

Grants and funding

The work described in this study was financially supported via funds provided by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and the Maschmeyer Group. The Maschmeyer group is a commercial funder. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. This funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The initial phase of this work was performed at the Institute of Multiphase Processes at the Leibniz University Hannover, funded via the German Research Foundation (DFG) REBIRTH-excellence cluster. This publication was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation within the funding programme Open Access Publishing.