Publications
2023
Lucija Rebula, Andrej Raspor, Mojca Bavčar, Aleš Štrancar and Maja Leskovec
Journal of Chromatography B, Volume 1217, 15 February 2023
Bacteriophages represent immense potential as therapeutic agents. Many of the most compelling applications of bacteriophages involve human therapy, some pertinent to gene therapy, others involving antibiotic replacement. Phages themselves are considered safe for humans. However, phage lysates may contain many kinds of harmful by-products, especially endotoxins of gram-negative bacteria and protein toxins produced by many pathogenic bacterial species. In bacteriophage research and therapy, most applications ask for highly purified phage suspensions, as such it is crucial to reduce proteins, endotoxins, DNA and other contaminants.
In this article we present an efficient two-step chromatographic purification method for P. aeruginosa bacteriophage PP-01, using Convective Interaction Media (CIM®) monoliths, that is cGMP compliant and easy to scale-up for most stringent production of the therapeutic phage. First chromatographic step on CIMmultus OH resulted in 100% bacteriophage recovery with a reduction of 98 % protein and more than 99 % DNA content. Polishing was conducted using three different column options, CIMmultus with QA, H-Bond and PrimaS ligands. For PP-01 bacteriophage all three different options worked, but multimodal ligands H-Bond and PrimaS outperformed traditional QA in endotoxin removal (7 log step reduction). Additionally, an HPLC analytical method was developed to estimate phage concentration and impurity profile in different in-process samples. The HPLC method shows good correlation with drop assay titration, provides useful insights and can be run very fast with just 20 min per sample analysis.
2021
Thanaporn Liangsupree, Evgen Multia, Marja-Liisa Riekkola
Journal of Chromatography A, Volume 1636, 2021
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogenous membrane-bound vesicles released from various origins. EVs play a crucial role in cellular communication and mediate several physiological and pathological processes, highlighting their potential therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Due to the rapid increase in interests and needs to elucidate EV properties and functions, numerous isolation and separation approaches for EVs have been developed to overcome limitations of conventional techniques, such as ultracentrifugation. This review focuses on recently emerging and modern EV isolation and separation tech- niques, including size-, charge-, and affinity-based techniques while excluding ultracentrifugation and precipitation-based techniques due to their multiple limitations. The advantages and drawbacks of each technique are discussed together with insights into their applications. Emerging approaches all share sim- ilar features in terms of being time-effective, easy-to-operate, and capable of providing EVs with suitable and desirable purity and integrity for applications of interest. Combination and hyphenation of techniques have been used for EV isolation and separation to yield EVs with the best quality. The most recent de- velopment using an automated on-line system including selective affinity-based trapping unit and asym- metrical flow field flow fractionation allows reliable isolation and fractionation of EV subpopulations from human plasma.
Attachments
2020
by Simon Staubach, Pete Gagnon, Katja Vrabec, Tjaša Lojpur, Sebastijan Peljhan, Bernd Giebel and Aleš Štrancar
BioProcess International, 2020
Abstract:
The traditional classification of extracellular vesicles (EVs) includes three types: exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic vesicles. Each type arises from a distinct origin and exhibits distinct characteristics. The problem is that their size ranges overlap and that the major surface proteins presented by exosomes also are present on the surfaces of microvesicles and apoptotic bodies. This makes it a challenge for process developers to identify the vesicle fraction that best serves a particular exosome therapy. Anion-exchange chromatography (AEC) can fractionate EVs into populations of different composition. This article highlights the complementarity of two analytical methods for characterizing distinctions among EV populations separated by AEC: imaging flow cytometry (IFCM) and size-exclusion chromatography.
E. Multia, T. Liangsupree, M. Jussila, J. Ruiz-Jimenez, M. Kemell and M. Riekkola
Analytical Chemistry, 2020
Abstract:
An automated on-line isolation and fractionation system including controlling software was developed for selected nanosized biomacromolecules from human plasma by on-line coupled immunoaffinity chromatography asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (IAC-AsFlFFF). The on-line system was versatile, only different monoclonal antibodies, anti-apolipoprotein B-100, anti-CD9, or anti-CD61, were immobilized on monolithic disk columns for isolation of lipoproteins and extracellular vesicles (EVs). The platelet-derived CD61-positive EVs and CD9-positive EVs, isolated by IAC, were further fractionated by AsFlFFF to their sizebased subpopulations (e.g., exomeres and exosomes) for further analysis. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy elucidated the morphology of the subpopulations, and 20 free amino acids and glucose in EV subpopulations were identified and quantified in the ng/mL range using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS). The study revealed that there were significant differences between EV origin and size-based subpopulations. The on-line coupled IAC-AsFlFFF system was successfully programmed for reliable execution of 10 sequential isolation and fractionation cycles (37−80 min per cycle) with minimal operator involvement, minimal sample losses, and contamination. The relative standard deviations (RSD) between the cycles for human plasma samples were 0.84−6.6%.
Attachments
M. Morani, T.Duc Mai, Z. Krupova, P. Defrenaix, E. Multia, M. Riekkola, M. Taverna
Analytica Chimica Acta 1128 (2020) 45-51
Abstract
This work reports on the development of the first capillary electrophoresis methodology for the elucidation of extracellular vesicles’ (EVs) electrokinetic distributions. The approach is based on capillary electrophoresis coupled with laser-induced fluorescent (LIF) detection for the identification and quantification of EVs after their isolation. Sensitive detection of these nanometric entities was possible thanks to an ‘inorganic-species-free’ background electrolyte. This electrolyte was made up of weakly charged molecules at very high concentrations to stabilize EVs, and an intra-membrane labelling approach was used to prevent EV morphology modification. The limit of detection for EVs achieved using the developed CE-LIF method method reached 8 × 10⁹ EVs/mL, whereas the calibration curve was acquired from 1.22 × 10¹⁰ to 1.20 × 10¹¹ EVs/mL. The CE-LIF approach was applied to provide the electrokinetic distributions of various EVs of animal and human origins, and visualize different EV subpopulations from our recently developed high-yield EV isolation method.
Pete Gagnon, Katja Vrabec, Tjaša Lojpur, and Aleš Štrancar
BioProcess International, 18 (4) April 2020
Abstract
Exosomes are a subject of rapidly growing therapeutic interest in the biopharmaceutical industry for two principal reasons. The first reason is that they are the primary communicators of instructions from source cells to target cells. Exosome surface features define their destination. They recognize complementary features on target cells, dock with them, and deliver their programmed instructions in the form of microRNA. The second reason is that exosomes are immunologically silent. As normal human cell products, and by contrast with gene therapy vectors such as virus particles, exosomes bypass the issue of triggering an immune response that might interfere with therapy.
Source cells include stem cells, which is why exosomes are of particular interest in the field of regenerative medicine. Recent research documenting the ability of exosomes to reverse the effects of severe strokes highlights their potential. It also underlines the need for scalable purification technology to advance these products through clinical trials and on to licensed manufacture. A platform approach was a major factor in the initial and continuing success of monoclonal antibodies. Exosomes likewise represent an extended family of individual products with similar properties. It stands to reason that a platform approach will prove equally valuable for exosomes. In this article we describe initial efforts toward that goal.
Hietala V, Horsma-Heikkinen J, Carron A, Skurnik M, Kiljunen S.
Frontiers in microbiology vol. 10 1674. 23 Jul. 2019
Abstract
The production of phages for therapeutic purposes demands fast, efficient and scalable purification procedures. Phage lysates have a wide range of impurities, of which endotoxins of gram-negative bacteria and protein toxins produced by many pathogenic bacterial species are harmful to humans. The highest allowed endotoxin concentration for parenterally applied medicines is 5 EU/kg/h. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of different purification methods in endotoxin and protein toxin removal in the production of phage preparations for clinical use. In the purification assays, we utilized three phages: Escherichia phage vB_EcoM_fHoEco02, Acinetobacter phage vB_ApiM_fHyAci03, and Staphylococcus phage vB_SauM_fRuSau02. The purification methods tested in the study were precipitation with polyethylene glycol, ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration, anion exchange chromatography, octanol extraction, two different endotoxin removal columns, and different combinations thereof. The efficiency of the applied purification protocols was evaluated by measuring phage titer and either endotoxins or staphylococcal enterotoxins A and C (SEA and SEC, respectively) from samples taken from different purification steps. The most efficient procedure in endotoxin removal was the combination of ultrafiltration and EndoTrap HD affinity column, which was able to reduce the endotoxin-to-phage ratio of vB_EcoM_fHoEco02 lysate from 3.5 × 104 Endotoxin Units (EU)/109 plaque forming units (PFU) to 0.09 EU/109 PFU. The combination of ultrafiltration and anion exchange chromatography resulted in ratio 96 EU/109 PFU, and the addition of octanol extraction step into this procedure still reduced this ratio threefold. The other methods tested either resulted to less efficient endotoxin removal or required the use of harmful chemicals that should be avoided when producing phage preparations for medical use. Ultrafiltration with 100,000 MWCO efficiently removed enterotoxins from vB_SauM_fRuSau02 lysate (from 1.3 to 0.06 ng SEA/109 PFU), and anion exchange chromatography reduced the enterotoxin concentration below 0.25 ng/ml, the detection limit of the assay.
Keywords: antibiotic resistance, bacteriophage, phage therapy, endotoxin, enterotoxin
2019
Evgen Multia, Crystal Jing Ying Tear, Mari Palviainen, Pia Siljander, Marja-Liisa Riekkola
Analytica Chimica Acta (2019).
Published online 2019 Sep 11.
A new, fast and selective immunoaffinity chromatographic method including a methacrylate-based convective interaction media (CIM®) disk monolithic column, immobilized with anti-human CD61 antibody, was developed for the isolation of CD61-containing platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) from plasma. The isolated EVs were detected and size characterized by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) with multi-angle light-scattering (MALS) and dynamic light-scattering (DLS) detection, and further confirmed by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The isolation procedure took only 19 min and the time can be even further decreased by increasing the flow rate. The same immunoaffinity chromatographic procedure, following AsFlFFF allowed also the isolation and characterization of platelet-derived EVs from plasma in under 60 min. Since it is possible to regenerate the anti-CD61 disk for multiple uses, the methodology developed in this study provides a viable substitution and addition to the conventional EV isolation procedures.
Keywords: Immunoaffinity chromatography, Isolation, Monolithic disk column, Extracellular vesicles, Platelet-derived vesicles, CD61
This discussion introduces new analytical approaches that enable in-line chromatographic detection of exosomes. One approach can discriminate extracellular vesicles from nonvesicle contaminants, and one potentially can discriminate exosomes from other vesicles. Examples illustrate how they enable development of more effective and better documented purification methods. The special qualifications of monolithic chromatography media for exosome purification are discussed. New process tools designed to accommodate some of the special challenges of exosome purification are introduced.
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Attachments
2015
J-P Pirnay et al.
Pharm Res, Springer, 14 Jan 2015
The worldwide antibiotic crisis has led to a renewed interest in phage therapy. Since time immemorial phages control bacterial populations on Earth. Potent lytic phages against bacterial pathogens can be isolated from the environment or selected from a collection in a matter of days. In addition, phages have the capacity to rapidly overcome bacterial resistances, which will inevitably emerge.
To maximally exploit these advantage phages have over conventional drugs such as antibiotics, it is important that sustainable phage products are not submitted to the conventional long medicinal product development and licensing pathway. There is a need for an adapted framework, including realistic production and quality and safety requirements, that allows a timely supplying of phage therapy products for 'personalized therapy' or for public health or medical emergencies.
This paper enumerates all phage therapy product related quality and safety risks known to the authors, as well as the tests that can be performed to minimize these risks, only to the extent needed to protect the patients and to allow and advance responsible phage therapy and research.