Adsorption Behavior of a Surfactant and a Monoclonal Antibody to Sterilizing-Grade Filters

Formulations of therapeutic proteins usually contain a surfactant such as polysorbate 80 to protect them against interfacial stresses. Since surfactants may interact with surfaces, the aim of the present work was to study the adsorption behavior of low concentrations of polysorbate 80 and of a monoclonal antibody during sterile filtration. Lab-scale tests were performed to study the adsorption behavior of a monoclonal antibody to different filter materials (PVDF, PES, CA, and Nylon) from different suppliers. Subsequently, protein and polysorbate 80 adsorption were tested in manufacturing scale experiments. It was found that the extent of protein adsorption differed with filter materials, but also with different suppliers. Prominently, Nylon filters showed the highest degree of protein adsorption. In manufacturing-scale filtration experiments, significant adsorption of polysorbate 80 to sterilizing-grade filters was found. Thus, the adsorption of both protein and polysorbate to filters should be taken into consideration in the formulation and manufacturing process and assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the manufacturing process set-up.