Raman and NIR spectroscopy-based real-time monitoring of the membrane filtration process of a recombinant protein for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2.

This research shows the detailed comparison of Raman and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as Process Analytical Technology tools for the real-time monitoring of a protein purification process. A comprehensive investigation of the application and model development of Raman and NIR spectroscopy was carried out for the real-time monitoring of a process-related impurity, imidazole, during the tangential flow filtration of Receptor-Binding Domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. The fast development of Raman and NIR spectroscopy-based calibration models was achieved using offline calibration data, resulting in low calibration and cross-validation errors. Raman model had an RMSEC of 1.53 mM, and an RMSECV of 1.78 mM, and the NIR model had an RMSEC of 1.87 mM and an RMSECV of 2.97 mM. Furthermore, Raman models had good robustness when applied in an inline measurement system, but on the contrary NIR spectroscopy was sensitive to the changes in the measurement environment. By utilizing the developed models, inline Raman and NIR spectroscopy were successfully applied for the real-time monitoring of a process-related impurity during the membrane filtration of a recombinant protein. The results enhance the importance of implementing real-time monitoring approaches for the broader field of diagnostic and therapeutic protein purification and underscore its potential to revolutionize the rapid development of biological products.