TY - JOUR A1 - Tscheuschner, Georg A1 - Kaiser, Melanie N. A1 - Lisec, Jan A1 - Beslic, D. A1 - Muth, Thilo A1 - Krüger, M. A1 - Mages, H. W. A1 - Dorner, B. G. A1 - Knospe, J. A1 - Schenk, J. A. A1 - Sellrie, F. A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - MALDI-TOF-MS-Based Identification of Monoclonal Murine Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies within One Hour N2 - During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many virus-binding monoclonal antibodies have been developed for clinical and diagnostic purposes. This underlines the importance of antibodies as universal bioanalytical reagents. However, little attention is given to the reproducibility crisis that scientific studies are still facing to date. In a recent study, not even half of all research antibodies mentioned in publications could be identified at all. This should spark more efforts in the search for practical solutions for the traceability of antibodies. For this purpose, we used 35 monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 to demonstrate how sequence-independent antibody identification can be achieved by simple means applied to the protein. First, we examined the intact and light chain masses of the antibodies relative to the reference material NIST-mAb 8671. Already half of the antibodies could be identified based solely on these two parameters. In addition, we developed two complementary peptide mass fingerprinting methods with MALDI-TOF-MS that can be performed in 60 min and had a combined sequence coverage of over 80%. One method is based on the partial acidic hydrolysis of the protein by 5 mM of sulfuric acid at 99 degrees C. Furthermore, we established a fast way for a tryptic digest without an alkylation step. We were able to show that the distinction of clones is possible simply by a brief visual comparison of the mass spectra. In this work, two clones originating from the same immunization gave the same fingerprints. Later, a hybridoma sequencing confirmed the sequence identity of these sister clones. In order to automate the spectral comparison for larger libraries of antibodies, we developed the online software ABID 2.0. This open-source software determines the number of matching peptides in the fingerprint spectra. We propose that publications and other documents critically relying on monoclonal antibodies with unknown amino acid sequences should include at least one antibody fingerprint. By fingerprinting an antibody in question, its identity can be confirmed by comparison with a library spectrum at any time and context. KW - Reproducibility KW - Quality control KW - Traceability KW - Peptides KW - Peptide mass fingerprinting KW - Monoclonal antibody KW - Recombinant antibody KW - Identity KW - Antibody identification KW - Sequencing KW - Light chain KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Software KW - Open science KW - Library KW - COVID-19 KW - Corona virus KW - Sequence coverage KW - NIST-mAb 8671 KW - Reference material KW - RBD KW - Spike protein KW - Nucleocapsid KW - Cleavage KW - Tryptic digest KW - MALDI KW - DHAP KW - 2,5-dihydroxyacetophenone KW - Github KW - Zenodo KW - ABID PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-547347 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/antib11020027 VL - 11 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 22 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-54734 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Costa, Elena A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Ast, S. A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Canning, J. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Development of a lateral flow test for rapid pyrethroid detection using antibody-gated indicator-releasing hybrid materials N2 - The employment of type-I pyrethroids for airplane disinfection in recent years underlines the necessity to develop sensing schemes for the rapid detection of these pesticides directly at the point-of-use. Antibody-gated indicator-releasing materials were thus developed and implemented with test strips for lateral-flow assay-based analysis employing a smartphone for readout. Besides a proper matching of pore sizes and gating macromolecules, the functionalization of both the material's outer surface as well as the strips with PEG chains enhanced system performance. This simple assay allowed for the detection of permethrin as a target molecule at concentrations down to the lower ppb level in less than 5 minutes. KW - Lateral flow test KW - Gated hybrid material KW - Fluorescence KW - Smartphone readout device KW - Pyrethroid KW - Pesticide KW - Insecticide KW - SBA-15 KW - Permethrin PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0an00319k SN - 0003-2654 SN - 1364-5528 VL - 145 IS - 10 SP - 3490 EP - 3494 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-50756 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Costa, Elena A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Wan, Wei A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Optimization of analytical assay performance of antibody-gated indicator-releasing mesoporous silica particles N2 - Antibody-gated indicator delivery (gAID) systems based on mesoporous silica nano- and microparticle scaffolds are a promising class of materials for the sensitive chemical detection of small-molecule analytes in simple test formats such as lateral flow assays (LFAs) or microfluidic chips. Their architecture is reminiscent of drug delivery systems, only that reporter molecules instead of drugs are stored in the voids of a porous host particle. In addition, the pores are closed with macromolecular “caps” through a tailored “gatekeeping” recognition chemistry so that the caps are opened when an analyte has reacted with a “gatekeeper”. The subsequent uncapping leads to a release of a large number of indicator molecules, endowing the system with signal amplification features. Particular benefits of such systems are their modularity and adaptability. With the example of the immunochemical detection of type-I pyrethroids by fluorescent dye-releasing gAID systems, the influence of several tuning modes on the optimisation of such hybrid sensory materials is introduced here. In particular, different mesoporous silica supports (from nano- and microparticles to platelets and short fibres), different functionalisation routes and different loading sequences were assessed. The materials’ performances were evaluated by studying their temporal response behaviour and detection sensitivity, including the tightness of pore closure (through the amount of blank release in the absence of analyte) and the release kinetics. Our results indicate that the better the paratope-accommodating Fab region of the antibody “cap” fits into the host material's pore opening, the better the closing/opening mechanism can be controlled. Because such materials are well-suited for LFAs, performance assessment included a test-strip format besides conventional assays in suspension. In combination with dyes as indicators and smartphones for read-out, simple analytical tests for use by untrained personnel directly at a point-of-need such as an aeroplane cabin can be devised, allowing for sensitivities down to the μg kg−1 range in <5 min with case-required selectivities. KW - Antibody-gated indicator delivery KW - Lateral flow assay KW - SBA-15 KW - SBA-16 KW - Type-I pyrethroids KW - Phenothrin KW - Permethrin KW - Etofenprox KW - Amplification KW - Biosensors KW - Immunoassays KW - Mesoporous particles KW - Optical detection PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517053 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0tb00371a VL - 8 IS - 22 SP - 4950 EP - 4961 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-51705 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mi, W. A1 - Josephs, R. D. A1 - Melanson, J. E. A1 - Dai, X. A1 - Wang, Y. A1 - Zhai, R. A1 - Chu, Z. A1 - Fang, X. A1 - Thibeault, M.-P. A1 - Stocks, B. B. A1 - Meija, J. A1 - Bedu, M. A1 - Martos, G. A1 - Westwood, S. A1 - Wielgosz, R. I. A1 - Liu, Q. A1 - Teo, T. L. A1 - Liu, H. A1 - Tan, Y. J. A1 - Öztuğ, M. A1 - Saban, E. A1 - Kinumi, T. A1 - Saikusa, K. A1 - Schneider, Rudolf A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Konthur, Zoltán A1 - Jaeger, Carsten A1 - Quaglia, M. A1 - Mussell, C. A1 - Drinkwater, G. A1 - Giangrande, C. A1 - Vaneeckhoutte, H. A1 - Boeuf, A. A1 - Delatour, V. A1 - Lee, J. E. A1 - O'Connor, G. A1 - Ohlendorf, R. A1 - Henrion, A. A1 - Beltrão, P. J. A1 - Naressi Scapin, S. M. A1 - Sade, Y. B. T1 - PAWG Pilot Study on Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibody - Part 1 N2 - Under the auspices of the Protein Analysis Working Group (PAWG) of the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière (CCQM) a pilot study, CCQM-P216, was coordinated by the Chinese National Institute of Metrology (NIM), National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Eleven Metrology Institutes or Designated Institutes and the BIPM participated in the first phase of the pilot study (Part 1). The purpose of this pilot study was to develop measurement capabilities for larger proteins using a recombinant humanized IgG monoclonal antibody against Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 (Anti-S IgG mAb) in solution. The first phase of the study was designed to employ established methods that had been previously studies by the CCQM Protein Analysis Working Group, involving the digestion of protein down to the peptide or amino acid level. The global coronavirus pandemic has also led to increased focus on antibody quantitation methods. IgG are among the immunoglobulins produced by the immune system to provide protection against SARS-CoV-2. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG can therefore be detected in samples from affected patients. Antibody tests can show whether a person has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2, and whether or not they potentially show lasting immunity to the disease. With the constant spread of the virus and the high pressure of re-opening economies, antibody testing plays a critical role in the fight against COVID-19 by helping healthcare professionals to identify individuals who have developed an immune response, either via vaccination or exposure to the virus. Many countries have launched large-scale antibody testing for COVID-19. The development of measurement standards for the antibody detection of SARS-CoV-2 is critically important to deal with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody is being used as a model system to build capacity in methods that can be used in antibody quantification. Amino acid reference values with corresponding expanded uncertainty of 36.10 ± 1.55 mg/kg, 38.75 ± 1.45 mg/kg, 18.46 ± 0.78 mg/kg, 16.20 ± 0.67 mg/kg and 30.61 ± 1.30 mg/kg have been established for leucine, valine, phenylalanine, isoleucine and proline, respectively. Agreement between nearly all laboratories was achieved for the amino acid analysis within 2 to 2.5 %, with one participant achieving markedly higher results due to a technical issue found in their procedure; this result was thus excluded from the reference value calculations. The relatively good agreement within a laboratory between different amino acids was not dissimilar to previous results for peptides or small proteins, indicating that factors such as hydrolysis conditions and calibration procedures could be the largest sources of variability. Peptide reference values with corresponding expanded uncertainty of 4.99 ± 0.28 mg/kg and 6.83 ± 0.65 mg/kg have been established for ALPAPIEK and GPSVFPLAPSSK, respectively. Not surprisingly due to prior knowledge from previous studies on peptide quantitation, agreement between laboratories for the peptide-based analysis was slightly poorer at 3 to 5 %, with one laboratory's result excluded for the peptide GPSVFPLAPSSK. Again, this level of agreement was not significantly poorer than that achieved in previous studies with smaller or less complex proteins. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. KW - Antibody quantification KW - Amino acid analysis KW - Peptide analysis KW - Round robin test PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/59/1a/08001 VL - 59 IS - 1A SP - 08001 AN - OPUS4-54972 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Döring, Sarah A1 - Konthur, Zoltán A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Jaeger, Carsten A1 - Reinders, Yvonne T1 - Challenges and Insights in Absolute Quantification of Recombinant Therapeutic Antibodies by Mass Spectrometry: An Introductory Review N2 - This review describes mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches for the absolute quantification of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), focusing on technical challenges in sample treatment and calibration. Therapeutic mAbs are crucial for treating cancer and inflammatory, infectious, and autoimmune diseases. We trace their development from hybridoma technology and the first murine mAbs in 1975 to today’s chimeric and fully human mAbs. With increasing commercial relevance, the absolute quantification of mAbs, traceable to an international standard system of units (SI units), has attracted attention from science, industry, and national metrology institutes (NMIs). Quantification of proteotypic peptides after enzymatic digestion using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) has emerged as the most viable strategy, though methods targeting intact mAbs are still being explored. We review peptide-based quantification, focusing on critical experimental steps like denaturation, reduction, alkylation, choice of digestion enzyme, and selection of signature peptides. Challenges in amino acid analysis (AAA) for quantifying pure mAbs and peptide calibrators, along with software tools for targeted MS data analysis, are also discussed. Short explanations within each chapter provide newcomers with an overview of the field’s challenges. We conclude that, despite recent progress, further efforts are needed to overcome the many technical hurdles along the quantification workflow and discuss the prospects of developing standardized protocols and certified reference materials (CRMs) for this goal. We also suggest future applications of newer technologies for absolute mAb quantification. KW - Monoclonal antibody KW - Therapeutic antibodies KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Liquid chromatography KW - Absolute quantification KW - Metrology KW - Traceability KW - Certified reference material PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-623707 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/antib14010003 SN - 2073-4468 VL - 14 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 26 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-62370 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Döring, Sarah A1 - Tscheuschner, Georg A1 - Flemig, Sabine A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Konthur, Zoltán T1 - Cost-Effective Method for Full-Length Sequencing of Monoclonal Antibodies from Hybridoma Cells N2 - Background: Monoclonal antibodies play an important role in therapeutic and analytical applications. For recombinant expression, the coding sequences of the variable regions of the heavy and light chains are required. In addition, cloning antibody sequences, including constant regions, reduces the impact of hybridoma cell loss and ensures preservation of the naturally occurring full antibody sequence. Method: We combined amplification of IgG antibody variable regions from hybridoma mRNA with an advanced method for fulllength cloning of monoclonal antibodies in a simple two-step workflow. Following Sanger sequencing and evaluation of consensus sequences, the best matching variable, diversity, and joining (V-(D-)J) gene segments were identified according to identity scores from IgBLAST reference sequences. Simultaneously, the mouse IgG subclass was determined at the DNA level based on isotype-specific sequence patterns in the CH1 domain. Knowing the DNA sequence of V-(D-)J recombination responsible for the complementary determining region 3 (CDR 3), variable region-specific primers were designed and used to amplify the corresponding antibody constant regions. Results: To verify the approach, we applied it to the hybridoma clone BAM-CCMV-29-81 and obtained identical full-length antibody sequences as with RNA Illumina sequencing. Further validation at the protein level using an established MALDI-TOF MS-fingerprinting protocol showed that five out of six genetically encoded CDR domains of the monoclonal antibody BAM-CCMV-29-81 could be efficiently correlated. Conclusion: This simple, streamlined method enables the cost-effective determination of the full-length sequence of monoclonal antibodies from hybridoma cell lines, with the added benefit of obtaining the DNA sequence of the antibody ready for recombinant expression. KW - Full-length antibody sequencing KW - Hybridoma cell loss KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Immunoglobulin isotyping KW - RNA Illumina sequencing PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-639599 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/antib14030072 SN - 2073-4468 VL - 14 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-63959 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Devi, Sarita A1 - Riedel, Soraya A1 - Döring, Sarah A1 - Hiller, Lukas A1 - Kaliyaraj Selva Kumar, Archana A1 - Flemig, Sabine A1 - Singh, Chandan A1 - Konthur, Zoltán A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Schneider, Rudolf T1 - Antibodies Functionalized Magnetic Fe-Metal-Organic Framework Based Biosensor for Electrochemical Detection of Tetanus Neurotoxin N2 - This work presents a metal-organic framework (MOF)-integrated microfluidic flow-cell (MFC) based immunodetection of the tetanus toxoid (TT) using electrochemical technique for the first time. The magnetic property of Fe-MOF helped to hold them on the working electrode at detection zone of MFC surpassing the requirement of additional conjugation chemistry, whereas the conductive property was utilized to observe the change in signal efficiency in the presence of TT. The one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of a magnetic and conductive iron-based MOF (Fe-MOF) was performed using the Fe3 +/Fe2+ precursors as 1.2/1 mmol and dual ligands, i.e., tetrahydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone and 2-aminobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid. The Fe-MOF was conjugated with L-phenylalanine (Fe-MOF/Phe) to increase its electric conductivity owing to the enhanced electron flow rate. The human monoclonal antibody SA13 against TT (anti-TT mAb) was conjugated on the Fe-MOF/Phe surface with the help of ethylenediamine (Fe-MOF/Phe/EDA/anti-TT mAb). The binding affinity of Fe-MOF/Phe/EDA/anti-TT mAb for the TT antigen was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry technique. The limit of detection of the Fe-MOF/Phe/EDA/anti-TT mAb-based biosensor for TT was 9.4 ng/ml in spiked buffer. This study shows the applicability of these Fe-MOFs in the detection of various other microbial toxins or other biomolecules. KW - Antikörper KW - Elektrochemischer Immunoassay KW - Molecular Organic Framework (MOF) KW - Microfluidics KW - Rekombinant PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2025.137381 SN - 0925-4005 VL - 431 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Elsevier B.V. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-62673 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -