Due to a free thiol group, and several methionines, Recombumin® recombinant human albumin (rAlb) has a great anti-oxidation ability which enables Recombumin® to preserve biopharmaceuticals against modification as a result of oxidation. Recombumin® does so by scavenging free radicals when in formulation.
This is illustrated below by the reduced level of oxidation seen with increasing concentrations of Recombumin® for the malaria vaccine candidates MSP2 3D7 and MSP2 FC27. The level of oxidation was measured by analysing tryptic digests using LC/MS for methionine and cysteine oxidation after H₂O₂ stress.
The Oxidation Protection Capability of Albumin
Stemming from the free thiol moiety of cysteine 34, this unpaired cysteine residue, present in its reduced form, can become oxidized rather than the API when put under oxidative stress [1]. The thiol of cysteine 34 is located in a cleft in the albumin protein. This protects it from larger molecules and specifically prevents albumin from binding to itself while the solvent can still access the cysteine. Here it reacts and scavenges the oxidative free radicals.
The free thiol content of commercial albumin can change according to the manufacturing process and source making, these important to consider. Commonly, rAlb has a greater free thiol content as opposed to plasma sourced albumin that is naturally oxidized and cysteinylated within the blood.
Albumedix has a long history of working with albumin and has spent many years optimizing its manufacturing process leading to (among other benefits) one of the highest levels of free thiol on the market compared to other recombinant and plasma sourced albumins.
References
- Roche M., Rondeau P., Singh N.R., Tarnus E., Bourdon E.; The Antioxidant Properties of Serum Albumin. FEBS Lett (2008) 582 1783-1787.
About Albumedix Ltd.
Too many people battle with diseases that keep them from living a full life. Healthcare professionals work hard every day to provide these people with better therapies. Together with partners, Albumedix utilize its albumin-based drug enhancing products and technologies to enable the development of more effective treatments.
With more than 30 years of experience, we are proud to be recognized as the world leader in recombinant human albumin products and technologies.
As the highest quality recombinant human albumin products ever developed, Albumedix enables the effective formulation of otherwise hard-to-stabilize drugs, cell therapies, and vaccines.
Our albumin-based technologies offer new ways of optimizing drug dosing and enhancing therapeutic performance by increasing the half-life, payload capacity, and tissue specific delivery of active pharmaceutical agents. This results in simpler treatment regimens, better performance, and, ultimately, improved patient outcomes.
Albumedix is headquartered in Nottingham, UK, with both research and large-scale manufacturing facilities. We are all committed to improving patient quality of life and are just as passionate about albumin and albumin-enabled therapies today as we were when we started 30 years ago.
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