Open Access

Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) is a widely used technique for purifying polyhistidine-tagged recombinant proteins. However, it often has practical limitations that require complex optimizations and additional steps for purification. In this study, we introduce functionalized corundum particles as a novel, efficient, and economical method for purifying recombinant proteins in a column-free format. The corundum surface is modified with amino silane APTES, followed by EDTA dianhydride, and then loaded with nickel ions. We used the Kaiser test to monitor the modification process and ICP-MS to quantify the metal-binding capacity. To evaluate the system, we used His-tagged protein A/G (PAG) mixed with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The corundum particles exhibited a binding capacity of approximately 3 mg of protein per gram of corundum or 2.4 mg per 1 mL of corundum suspension. We also examined cytoplasm obtained from different E. coli strains as an example of a complex matrix. Varying the imidazole concentration in the loading and washing buffers showed that higher concentrations during loading improved purity. Even with sample volumes as large as one liter, we successfully isolated recombinant proteins down to a concentration of 1 µg/mL. We found higher purity levels with corundum when comparing the corundum material to standard Ni–NTA agarose beads. We successfully purified His6-MBP-mSA2, a fusion protein comprising monomeric streptavidin and maltose-binding protein, from E. coli cytoplasm, demonstrating the method's applicability. We also purified SARS-CoV-2-S-RBD-His8 expressed in human Expi293F cells, confirming its suitability for mammalian cell culture supernatants. The material cost of the nickel-loaded corundum material (without regeneration) is estimated to be less than 30 cents per gram of functionalized support or 10 cents per milligram of isolated protein. Another advantage of this system is the exceptional physical and chemical stability of corundum particles. Overall, we have demonstrated that this novel material offers an efficient, robust, and cost-effective purification platform for His-tagged proteins, even in challenging, complex matrices and large sample volumes with low product concentrations. This method has potential applications in both small laboratories and large-scale industrial settings.

With the development of hybridoma technology, monoclonal antibodies are increasingly important in therapeutic and analytical applications. For recombinant expression in mammalian cells, knowledge of the variable regions of both, heavy (VH) and light (VL) chain, is a necessary prerequisite for generating expression plasmids. Furthermore, cloning antibody sequences including constant regions CH1 to CH3 and CL reduces impact of hybridoma cell loss and associated full natural antibody sequence leakage. Here, we show a cost-effective workflow for amplification of IgG antibody variable regions in combination with advanced methods for full-length cloning of monoclonal antibodies.

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.

Reusable enzyme carriers are valuable for proteomic workflows, yet many supports are expensive or lack robustness. This study describes the covalent immobilization of recombinant trypsin on micrometer-sized corundum particles and assesses their performance in protein digestion and antibody analysis. The corundum surface was cleaned with potassium hydroxide, silanized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and activated with glutaraldehyde. Recombinant trypsin was then attached, and the resulting imines were reduced with sodium cyanoborohydride. Aromatic amino acid analysis (AAAA) estimated an enzyme loading of approximately 1 µg/mg. Non-specific adsorption of human plasma proteins was suppressed by blocking residual aldehydes with a Tris-glycine-lysine buffer. Compared with free trypsin, immobilization shifted the temperature optimum from 50 to 60 °C and greatly improved stability in 1 M guanidinium hydrochloride. Activity remained above 80% across several reuse cycles, and storage at 4 °C preserved functionality for weeks. When applied to digesting the NISTmAb, immobilized trypsin provided peptide yields and sequence coverage comparable to soluble enzyme and outperformed it at elevated temperatures. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of Herceptin digests yielded fingerprint spectra that correctly identified the antibody and achieved 60% sequence coverage. The combination of low cost, robustness and analytical performance makes corundum-immobilized trypsin an attractive option for research and routine proteomic workflows.

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.