Quantification of human mAbs in mouse tissues using generic affinity enrichment procedures and LC-MS detection.

Background: The disease state can modulate the penetration of large antibody-sized therapeutic molecules into affected tissues. Suitable bioanalytical methods are required for the quantitative analysis of drug tissue levels to enable a better understanding of the parameters influencing drug penetration and target engagement.
Results: Described is a sensitive and selective LC-MS/MS assay for the quantification of human mAb molecules in mouse tissues. By homogenizing tissues directly into serum, a common serum calibration curve can be used for multiple tissues. A generic procedure was used for affinity enrichment. An analytical range of 20 - 20,000 ng/ml was achieved in serum.
Conclusion: The method described here can be applied for the quantitative analysis of mAb and Fc-fusion therapeutic molecules in a variety of animal tissue matrices.