Low-field NMR Works as a Rapid, Automatic, Non-Invasive and Wide-Scale Coverage Technique for Aggregates Indication in Biomacromolecule Development

Protein aggregation is challenging for biopharmaceutical drug, because it affects the stability of protein formulations in real-time. However, current techniques for protein aggregate indication meet a number of limitations including limited aggregate size range, complex pre-treatments and lack of chromatographic approaches. Herein, a rapid, automatic, non-invasive and wide-scale coverage technique for aggregates indication is developed to overcome these challenges. Firstly, the response of low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) to the aggregates is explored by making a comparison with certain established techniques. LF-NMR achieves a high sensitivity of water proton transverse relaxation rate (R2 of H2O, hereinafter referred as R2(H2O)) to protein aggregates from nanometer to micrometer. Then, the quantitative relationship between R2(H2O) and aggregates is investigated furtherly. R2(H2O) could serve as an all-size coverage protein aggregates indicator during development. As a non-invasive method, LF-NMR does not need any sample handling. It takes only 44 s for one test, and saves a lot of manpower, materials and costs. Compared with other established analytical techniques, the technique developed here could be a powerful tool for a rapid, automatic, non-invasive and wide-scale coverage technique for aggregates indication in biomacromolecule development.Graphical abstract