Amorphous–Amorphous Phase Separation of Freeze-Concentrated Protein and Amino Acid Excipients for Lyophilized Formulations

Abstract

The objective of this study was to elucidate the mixing state of proteins and amino acid excipients concentrated in the amorphous non-ice region of frozen solutions. Thermal analysis of frozen aqueous solutions was performed in heating scans before and after a heat treatment. Frozen aqueous solutions containing a protein (e.g., recombinant human albumin, gelatin) or a polysaccharide (dextran) and an amino acid excipient (e.g., L-arginine, L-arginine hydrochloride, L-arginine monophosphate, sodium L-glutamate) at varied mass ratios showed single or double T_g′ (glass transition temperature of maximally freeze-concentrated solutes). Some mixture frozen solutions rich in the polymers maintained the single T_g′ of the freeze-concentrated amorphous solute–mixture phase. In contrast, amino acid-rich mixture frozen solutions revealed two T_g′s that suggested transition of concentrated non-crystalline solute–mixture phase and excipient-dominant phase. Post-freeze heat treatment induced splitting of the T_g′ in some intermediate mass ratio mixture solutions. The mixing state of proteins and amino acids varied depending on their structure, salt types, mass ratio, composition of co-solutes (e.g., NaCl) and thermal history. Information on the varied mixing states should be valuable for the rational use of amino acid excipients in lyophilized protein pharmaceuticals.

Graphical Abstract