ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging for the analysis of biopharmaceuticals

Abstract

Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy is a label-free, non-destructive technique that can be applied to a vast range of biological applications, from imaging cancer tissues and live cells, to determining protein content and protein secondary structure composition. This review summarises the recent advances in applications of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy to biopharmaceuticals, the application of this technique to biosimilars, and the current uses of FTIR spectroscopy in biopharmaceutical production. We discuss the use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopic imaging to investigate biopharmaceuticals, and finally, give an outlook on the possible future developments and applications of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging to this field. Throughout the review comparisons will be made between FTIR spectroscopy and alternative analytical techniques, and areas will be identified where FTIR spectroscopy could perhaps offer a better alternative in future studies. This review focuses on the most recent advances in the field of using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging to characterise and evaluate biopharmaceuticals, both in industrial and academic research based environments.

Keywords: ATR; Aggregation; Biopharmaceuticals; Bioprocessing; FTIR spectroscopy; Proteins.