Regulated LC-MS/MS bioanalysis technology for therapeutic antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins using structure-indicated approach

Abstract In recent studies, the development of bioanalysis technologies using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has attracted attention. Our developed nano-surface and molecular-orientation limited (nSMOL) proteolysis enables Fab-specific proteolysis and is optimal for LC-MS/MS analysis of antibody drugs and Fc-fusion proteins in biological samples. In this nSMOL method, antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins are held in pores of the particle and the subsequent proteolysis is carried out with protease-immobilized nanoparticles. The Fab of antibodies or fused region of Fc-fusion protein can be held to orient toward the reaction solution. The access of the immobilized protease is limited to a part in the structure of protein substrate on the particle surface. Thus, nSMOL proteolysis reacts selectively at the Fab complementarity-determining region of antibodies or N-terminal specific domain of Fc-fusion proteins and can be applied to both types of drugs. We have already evaluated drug concentrations in biological samples pretreated with nSMOL proteolysis using LC-MS/MS for more than twenty drugs, of which ten drugs have been fully validated and published. In this review, we discuss the development and application of LC-MS/MS bioanalysis, which enables the bioanalysis of therapeutic antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins by focusing on a structure-based approach.