Prediction of Unwanted Crystallization of Freeze-Dried Protein Formulations Using α-Relaxation Measurements

There is a lack of methods to predict the isothermal crystallization behavior of amorphous freeze-dried formulations stored below the glass transition temperature. This study applies isothermal microcalorimetry to predict long-term crystallization during product storage time. The relaxation curve of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sebastian Groël (Author), Tim Menzen (Author), Gerhard Winter (Author)
Format: Book
Published: MDPI AG, 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:There is a lack of methods to predict the isothermal crystallization behavior of amorphous freeze-dried formulations stored below the glass transition temperature. This study applies isothermal microcalorimetry to predict long-term crystallization during product storage time. The relaxation curve of a fresh sample recorded within 12 h after lyophilization is correlated with the long-term crystallization time at the same temperature. Storage conditions of 25 °C and 40 °C are examined and five model formulations containing either sucrose or trehalose with different concentrations of an IgG<sub>1</sub> antibody are investigated. The amorphous formulations were created by different freeze-drying processes only differing in their freezing step (random nucleation; additional annealing step of 1.5 h and 3 h, controlled nucleation; quench cooling). Samples that crystallized during the study time of 12 months showed a promising correlation between their relaxation time and crystallization behavior upon storage. Furthermore, the study shows that polysorbate 20 strongly accelerates crystallization of sucrose and that the freezing step itself has a strong impact on the relaxation phenomena that is not levelled out by primary and secondary drying.
Item Description:10.3390/pharmaceutics15020703
1999-4923