Investigating interactions between surfactants and biologics

As the pharmaceutical industry moves more towards using large biologics as drugs (rather than small molecules) this project will use analytical techniques to help optimise the process of choosing the most appropriate surfactants to use in different scenarios. Firstly, calorimetry would facilitate the measurement of interactions between solutes and surfactants by recording the injection of the former into a solution of the latter. This will indicate if the solute interacts with the surfactant, how the process is affected by surfactant concentration and the energetics involved in the process, i.e. what is causing the interaction to occur. Secondly, DSC can indicate if the presence of surfactant successfully prevents agglomeration or protein aggregation, as is often the purpose of incorporating surfactant within a parenteral formulation. Thirdly, analysis can also indicate if the surfactant ensures preservation of the conformation of the biololgic as this is essential for the compound to be efficacious.