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The plastics used in drug packaging systems and medical devices are composed of homologous polymers and generally contain additives such as antioxidants, plasticizers and others, to improve their physicochemical properties. However, these additives have potential drawbacks due to possible migration or leaching towards the drug product. Leaching can cause a change in the chemical composition of the drug which, in turn, could modify its therapeutic action and, in some cases, its organoleptic properties. Leachables may also be considered a health hazard due to their inherent toxicological properties. The analytical characterization (detection, identification, typification/qualification and quantification) of leachable substances is mandatory and this information must be included in the application dossier for the drug before it can receive regulatory approval. The main aim of this paper is to collect and contextualise the reported analytical approaches for characterising and/or controlling organic leachables from plastic materials in contact with drugs. We also describe the state of the art of leachables in conjunction with a valuable, broad-based compilation of directives and guidelines. We end by presenting an updated collection of leachables both gas and liquid chromatography studies as separation techniques over the last eight years. We decided to focus our review exclusively on organic leachables as there is already a wide body of research on inorganic impurities., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Host cell proteins (HCPs) are bioprocess-related impurities arising from cell-death or secretion from nonhuman cells used for recombinant protein production. Clearance of HCPs through downstream purification (DSP) is required to produce safe and efficacious therapeutic proteins. While traditionally measured using anti-HCP ELISA, more in-depth approaches for HCP characterization may ensure that risks to patients from HCPs are adequately assessed. Mass spectrometry methods provide rationale for targeted removal strategies through the provision of both qualitative and quantitative HCP information. A high pH, low pH, reversed-phase data independent 2D-LC-MS(E) proteomic platform was applied to determine HCP repertoires in the Protein A purified monoclonal antibody (mAb) samples as a function of culture harvest time, elution buffer used for DSP and also following inclusion of additional DSP steps. Critical quality attributes (CQAs) were examined for mAbs purified with different Protein A elution buffers to ensure that the selected buffers not only minimized the HCP profile but also exhibited no adverse effect on product quality. Results indicated that an arginine based Protein A elution buffer minimized the levels of HCPs identified and quantified in a purified mAb sample and also demonstrated no impact on product CQAs. It was also observed that mAbs harvested at later stages of cell culture contained higher concentrations of HCPs but that these were successfully removed by the addition of DSP steps complementary to Protein A purification. Taken together, our results showed how mass spectrometry based methods for HCP determination in conjunction with careful consideration of processing parameters such as harvest time, Protein A elution buffers, and subsequent DSP steps can reduce the HCP repertoire of therapeutic mAbs.

A twoplex method using (12)C6 and (13)C6 stable isotope analogues (Δmass = 6 Da) of 2-aminobenzoic acid (2-AA) is described for quantitative analysis of N-glycans present on monoclonal antibodies and other glycoproteins using ultra performance liquid chromatography with sequential fluorescence and accurate mass tandem quadrupole time of flight (QToF) mass spectrometric detection.

A method for the simultaneous determination of quinoline yellow (QY) and brilliant blue FCF (BB) in mixtures by solid-phase spectrophotometry has been developed. Both colorants were isolated in Sephadex DEAE A-25 gel showing maximum absorbances at 632 nm and 415 nm for BB and QY respectively. The applicable concentration ranges were between 25.0 and 500.0 mug 1(-1) for BB and between 50.0 and 750.0 mug 1(-1) for QY. The detection limits were 6.1 and 13.4 mug (-1) for BB and QY respectively. Application of the method to real samples (colognes, after shave lotions and shampoo gels) involves a previous extraction process of the colorants before their isolation on the gel.