Posters

mRNA has been at the forefront of both scientific and general public interests from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are still limited options available for rapid characterization of mRNA containing samples. For precise characterization of an mRNA sample, first the presence and concentration of mRNA molecules in the sample needs to be identified. In the second step, any contaminants in the sample coming from the IVT reaction need to be identified and quantified. All major components of the IVT reaction; nucleotides, capping reagent, enzymes and DNA template may be present in the mRNA sample. In addition, impurities such as shorter, incomplete RNA fragments, and in particular, dsRNA may also be present. Contaminants may also come from the mRNA in vitro instability, caused by spontaneous hydrolyzation of the mRNA backbone. These issues can be mitigated using appropriate analytical tools throughout the mRNA production and purification steps.

Affinity-based chromatographic isolation of mRNA is robust and simple, lending itself as a useful industrial platform. mRNA constructs typically contain a 3’ polyA tail to increase stability in vivo, thereby affording the possibility of affinity purification using oligo-deoxythymidinic acid (Oligo dT) probes covalently coupled to a solid support. Poly-adenylated mRNA forms a stable hybrid with Oligo dT under high-salt conditions which is destabilized when the salt is removed, allowing mRNA to be released. Typical dynamic binding capacity (DBC) of CIMmultus Oligo dT for mRNA is 2-4 mg/mL; ever higher IVT productivity will require higher binding capacities. Screening experiments to elucidate factors affecting CIMmultus Oligo dT binding capacity for mRNA were performed in CIM® 96-well Oligo dT format. A simplified model identified NaCl, guanidine hydrochloride (Gu-HCl) and MgCl2 concentration as the key factors contributing to DBC. Buffer chemistry, buffer pH, salt type and mRNA concentration had little or no effect on DBC.

The cost of mRNA production is driven by IVT reagents, particularly the capping reagent. Optimization of mRNA yield is therefore crucial for lowering the cost of mRNA production. In order to monitor IVT reaction over time, we implemented a rapid at-line HPLC monitoring of consumption of NTPs with concomitant production of mRNA, with a sub-3 min read-out. Use of CIMac PrimaS analytical column allowed us to determine and adjust key IVT components that influence the kinetics of mRNA production and are critical for optimization of continuous addition of reagents, i.e. fed-batch IVT.

CIM® PrimaS column family combines multimodal anion exchange/hydrogen bonding properties, binding molecules with predominantly negative charge. It is used as capture method for purification of mRNA from IVT (in-vitro transcription) reaction mixture with high binding capacity. High salt wash is used to elute the plasmid and other IVT components from the column without affecting binding of ssRNA.

Microvolume spectrophotometers are commonly used as quick and easy method to measure concentration and purity of nucleic acids. DSP process for purification of mRNA includes unit operations with salt concentrations up to 2.75 M (HIC) or up to 1.25 M (Oligo dT) during load and low salt concentrations during elution.

mRNA has been at the forefront of both scientific and general public interests from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The demand for the mRNA product has been incredible for the last couple of years. However, there are still limited options available for a rapid mRNA quantification and characterization. In this work, mRNA analytics using a CIMac Oligo dT column is presented. mRNA is a specialized group of RNAs that carries the blueprints for building proteins from the cell’s DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm. One of the features of mRNA molecules is a polyadenylated (poly(A)) tail on the 3’ end, that can be up to 250 nucleotides long. This feature enables mRNA to bind to the Oligo dT column. HPLC Oligo dT analytics provide a solution for fast and reproducible quantification of mRNA throughout all the process steps of mRNA production and purification. The presented method was validated using mFix4, an uncapped mRNA analog produced in-house, 3969 nt long molecule with a poly(A )tail length of 95 nucleotides.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) is becoming a major contributor in the fields of gene therapy and vaccines, including those developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Convective Interaction Media® (CIM®) Styrene divinylbenzene (SDVB) monolithic columns are promising for high resolution purification and separation of mRNA, enabling large-scale production of this molecule. This study demonstrates the ability to prepare homogeneous SDVB monoliths with desired chromatographic properties and economical analytics over the whole size range.

Endotoxins are robust and persistent impurity, which are native to majority of phage substrates. Two anion exchangers, CIMmultus PrimaS and H-Bond, were tested for their capacity for endotoxin removal in comparison to well known strong anion exchanger, CIMmultus QA. 

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are lipid bound products secreted by cells. Among them, exosomes have great potential for clinical applications. Animal and human-derived components used in cell culture, such as fetal bovine serum (FBS), naturally contain exosomes that can cross-contaminate the desired product. In order to study exosomes derived from cells of interest, multiple producers have come up with exosome-depleted FBS (EV (-) FBS) generated using different approaches. In this work we evaluated commercially available EV (-) FBS supplements for residual exosome content and tested their performance in upstream exosome production process. The analysis was performed with PATfix high pressure liquid chromatography system using PATfix size exclusion (SEC) analytical method.

The recently demonstrated efficacy of mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines has shown promise of this therapeutic format, but also highlighted the need for higher efficiency of mRNA production to meet enormous needs for global vaccine supply.

Typical mRNA production process involves three key steps: 1) plasmid DNA (pDNA) production in supercoiled (sc) isoform, linearization and purification, 2) in-vitro transcription (IVT) reaction and 3) mRNA purification.

Here we present a chromatographic toolbox and mRNA IVT synthesis for integrated mRNA production from pDNA to mRNA purification, including in-process analytics. This high yield process reduces the overall number of purification steps required, improves recoveries, results in extra low protein impurity and allows for very efficient dsRNA removal.

The IVT reaction is one of the most expensive steps in mRNA production process and its optimization to reach high mRNA yield is of key importance Standard mRNA quantification techniques like absorbance and fluorescence based assays are time consuming and cannot be performed at line as the IVT reaction progresses In addition, other reaction components like nucleotides and pDNA interfere in the analytical results and reduce the method’s accuracy A new approach shown here uses CIMac PrimaS™ analytical HPLC column to separate and quantify several key IVT components with a very short run time, enabling fast “at line” tracking

Optimizing processing steps in sc pDNA isolation is critical for obtaining good process yields as well as high product purity. PATfix platform with convective chromatography media (e.g. monolith) offers a rapid analytical method to characterize complex biomolecular mixtures and gives immediate feedback during process development. E coli lysis represents such a challenging step, where multiple critical quality attributes need to be identified and critical processing parameters optimized. This approach leads to better yields and product purity, allowing for simplified downstream steps. A new PATfix analytical platform presented here uses CIMac pDNA column, to separate and characterize plasmid from impurities, allowing for easy optimization of key parameters such as RNA removal.

In mRNA production process, downstream purification of in vitro transcription (IVT) reaction often relies on precipitation methods which cannot provide resolution, recovery, or reproducibility to consistently produce a safe and effective product with good process economics. mRNA is a large biomolecule (mass of 1000 nt is ~ 150 kDa and >100 nm in diameter) for which porous particle chromatography lacks the ability to support high capacity and throughput to achieve good process economics. Convective flow chromatography media (e.g. monoliths) is an optimal platform for purification. A fully scalable chromatographic purification process is presented for a posttranscriptionally capped in vitro transcribedmRNA.

PATfix with convective chromatography media (e.g.monolith) offers a rapid analytical method to characterise complex mixtures. Transcription reaction used for production of mRNA represents such a mixture, with components varying in size, chemical and physical properties. A new analytical approach (PATfix) presented here uses CIMac PrimaS to separate IVT components such as triphosphate-nucleotides (NTPs), enzymes, DNA template and RNA in a very short gradient.

Linearised pDNA is currently the starting point of In-Vitro-Transcription processes to synthesize mRNA. Large scale purification protocols for manufacturing of pDNA used for Gene Therapy applications typically include two chromatography steps. The first step captures both linear, open circular and supercoiled pDNA species. The polishing step enriches supercoiled pDNA, while discarding other isoforms. We describe a single-step-capture strategy to maximize the recovery of pDNA for further linearization.

The increasing demand for messenger RNA (mRNA) as a therapeutic product requires larger production scales and more efficient extraction techniques. In this poster, fast and efficient way to purify poly-adenylated mRNA using affinity chromatography on CIMmultus™ Oligo dT column is presented.

The poly-adenylated tail of mRNA interacts with covalently bound oligo dT ligands in high-salt loading conditions, where electrostatic repulsion between negatively charged backbones of both, mRNA and oligo dT, are reduced and H-bonding in T-A base pair is emphasized. High salt concentration additionally screens out attractive electrostatic interactions between mRNA and other components in the process sample, thus facilitating aggregate reduction in purified product.

Removal of host cell DNA is essential for all human-injectable biologics. This poster shows a method for achieving low host cell levels in preparations of exosomes. Purified exosome samples were prepared with anion exchange chromatography (AEC) and pre-treated with tangetial flow filtration (TFF) and nuclease treatment. Results are compared with an experimental control using TFF and size exclusion chromatohraphy (SEC).

The steps in purification process are illustrated by analytical size exclusion chromatography (SEC) on PATfix system with in-line UV, MALS and fluorescence detectors and by staining with Picogreen reagent. This technique visualizes sample composition by size, UV, light scattering and fluorescent properties.

Exosomes fulfill a critical role as communicators among cells, with targeting and message content depending on their surface receptors and payload. This makes them obvious candidates for an extensive range of diagnostic, therapeutic applications and a need for a fast, robust and scalable purification procedure.

CIMmultus™ monolithic columns are designed to meet the special fractionation needs of very large biologics like exosomes.

We show examples of exosome purification from cell culture with CORNERSTONE Exosome Process Development Pack and analysis of exosomal vesicle populations by Image stream flow cytometry.

This poster shows how Multi-Angle Light Scattering detector and Fluorescence detector couppled to PATfix analytical system can be used to track extracellular vesicles through purification process. Samples were analyzed by analytical size exclusion chromatography (SEC). On SEC cell culture components diffuze into pores of chromatographic media and are separated (mostly) based on size. Particles larger than the media pore size are excluded in the void peak. This peak represents extracellular vesicles including apoptosomes, microvesicles and exosomes as well as cell debris and aggregates.

One of the handicaps of working with bacteriophages is the long duration required to perform plaque assays. Plaque assays also impose questions about accuracy and precision relative to the scale and experience of the persons performing and interpreting them. This poster presents a pair of high precision, high accuracy chromatography-based assays that permit determination of phage concentration in less than 1 hour. Sensitivity of UV absorbance is poor because of the low concentration of phages. However, phage sensitivity is strongly amplified by monitoring the chromatogram with either fluorescence or MALS. Fluorescence works by measuring the fluorescence emission from tryptophan residues of the phage proteins. MALS works by passing a laser beam through the sample and reading the scatter produced when it encounters a particle. Larger species generate more scatter.