Development of an automated mid-scale parallel protein purification system for antibody purification and affinity chromatography.

Protein purification is often a bottleneck during protein generation for large molecule drug discovery. Therapeutic antibody campaigns typically require the purification of hundreds of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) during the hybridoma process and lead optimization. With the increase in high-throughput cloning, faster DNA sequencing, and the use of parallel protein expression systems, a need for high-throughput purification approaches has evolved, particularly in the midsize range between 20 ml and 100 ml.

Ammonia as a preferred additive in chiral and achiral applications of supercritical fluid chromatography for small, drug-like molecules.

Supercritical fluid chromatography is routinely utilized by analytical separations groups in the pharmaceutical industry to efficiently handle separations for discovery medicinal chemistry purposes. Purifications are performed on samples ranging from a few milligrams up to hundreds of grams. Basic additives dissolved into the liquid component of the SFC mobile phase are commonly used to improve peak shape and efficiency in achiral and chiral separations.

Characterization of short-term temperature, exposure, and solubilization effects on library compound quality.

Many compound collections are stored under the same temperature conditions, which can limit flexibility by increasing the processing time required for high-demand compounds. In this study, the authors wanted to evaluate the impact of a hybrid-storage approach where high-demand compounds are stored for a shortened time period at room temperature to expedite processing operations. The use of a Covaris adaptive-focused acoustics platform was also characterized as a potential enhancement or alternative to storage at elevated temperatures.

Development of supercritical fluid extraction and supercritical fluid chromatography purification methods using rapid solubility screening with multiple solubility chambers.

Rapid solubility screening in diverse supercritical fluids (SCFs) was carried out via multiple solubility chambers with a trapping device and online ultraviolet (UV) detection. With this device, it was possible to rapidly study the solubility variations of multiple components in a mixture. Results from solubility studies have been used to develop efficient supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) methods.

Supercritical fluid chromatography comparison of the poly(trans-1,2-cyclohexanediyl-bis acrylamide) (P-CAP) column with several derivatized polysaccharide-based stationary phases.

The poly(trans-1,2-cyclohexanediyl-bis acrylamide) (P-CAP) column has so far been primarily used with normal phase and polar organic mobile phase chromatography. Its use in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) was investigated via the analysis of 40 commercial and 100 proprietary compounds using a 12-min gradient with methanol as a modifier. Results were then compared against those obtained from the popular derivatized polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases (CSPs) such as Chiralpak AD-H and Chiralpak AS-H as well as Chiralcel OD-H and Chiralcel OJ-H columns.

Mass spectrometry analysis of new chemical entities for pharmaceutical discovery.

In this Section, we review the applications of mass spectrometry for the analysis and purification of new chemical entities (NCEs) for pharmaceutical discovery. Since the speed of synthesis of NCEs has dramatically increased over the last few years, new high throughput analytical techniques have been developed to keep pace with the synthetic developments. In this Section, we review both novel, as well as modifications of commonly used mass spectrometry techniques that have helped increase the speed of the analytical process.

Enhanced performance test mix for high-throughput LC/MS analysis of pharmaceutical compounds.

LC/MS is being used for the routine analysis of small molecules in both the discovery and development stages within the pharmaceutical industry. In drug discovery, LC/MS is relied upon to confirm the identity and assess the purity of chemical entities. To ensure the quality of LC/MS analysis, it is important that the LC/MS system is operating within defined performance criteria.

Development of a mass-directed preparative supercritical fluid chromatography purification system.

In this paper, we report the development of a mass-directed supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) purification system. We have addressed issues on software compatibility, the interface between the preparative SFC and the mass spectrometer, and fraction collection. Good peak shape and signal were achieved in the mass spectrometry (MS) trace, allowing accurate peak detection and reliable fraction collection.

A systematic investigation of recovery in preparative reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

In this paper we report a systematic recovery study based on reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) separation and mass spectrometric (MS) based fractionation. Factors including a compound's physicochemical properties, column mass loading and presence of impurities were investigated through commercially available compounds. Results suggest that the delay time between MS peak detection and fraction collection, fraction detector's signal-to-noise ratio and compound's base peak width in the chromatogram have the biggest impacts on purification recovery.

Buffer system for the separation of neutral and charged small molecules using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with mass spectrometric detection.

An organic buffer system will be discussed that is suitable for the separation of neutral as well as charged molecules be means of micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). The buffers are based on the combination of a long chain alkyl acid, such as lauric acid with ammonium hydroxide or an organic base such as tris-hydroxymethylaminomethane (Tris). The resulting buffer system is able to separate neutral compounds based on its micellar properties.

High-throughput microcoil NMR of compound libraries using zero-dispersion segmented flow analysis.

An automated system for loading samples into a microcoil NMR probe has been developed using segmented flow analysis. This approach enhanced 2-fold the throughput of the published direct injection and flow injection methods, improved sample utilization 3-fold, and was applicable to high-field NMR facilities with long transfer lines between the sample handler and NMR magnet. Sample volumes of 2 microL (10-30 mM, approximately 10 microg) were drawn from a 96-well microtiter plate by a sample handler, then pumped to a 0.

One-minute full-gradient HPLC/UV/ELSD/MS analysis to support high-throughput parallel synthesis.

High-throughput parallel synthesis of library compounds for early drug discovery requires high-throughput analytical methods to confirm synthesis, identify reaction products, and determine purity. An ultrafast 1.0-min HPLC/UV/ELSD/MS method was developed and compared to our standard 2.

A straightforward means of coupling preparative high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Flow splitting to a mass spectrometer is a common way of coupling a highly specific detector to preparative or semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) purification of combinatorial libraries, drug metabolites, and characterizable impurities. The sensitive mass spectrometer consumes only a small fraction of the analyte while providing online structure-specific detection, and its output can thus be used to trigger collection of the desired fraction. Coupling mass spectrometry to preparative HPLC is difficult due to the susceptibility of the detector to fouling under conditions of high analyte concentration or solute amount, or to changes in solvent composition.