A generic sample preparation approach for LC–MS/MS bioanalysis of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in serum applied to Infliximab

Abstract

In this study, we developed a generic bioanalytical workflow providing sensitive, specific, and accurate absolute quantification of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in serum. The workflow involves magnetic beads coated with protein A to pull-down therapeutic monoclonal antibodies with affinity for protein A from the biological matrix, followed by tryptic digestion and LC-MS/MS quantification of a unique signature peptide, considering of course the matrix of interest and other present mAbs, if applicable. The feasibility of this approach was demonstrated for Infliximab (trade name Remicade) in rat serum. The assigned signature peptide was monitored in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. Assay variability was determined to be below 20%, except at the QC low level, which was provided through optimization of the sample preparation and monitoring of the LC-MS/MS using a stable isotope labeled signature peptide as internal standard. The 100 ng/ml lower limit of quantification using only 25 μl sample volume, is generally considered as sufficient for pharmaceutical development purposes for monoclonal antibodies.