Investigation of the stabilizing effects of hydroxyethyl cellulose on LDH during freeze drying and freeze thawing cycles

The objective of this study was to investigate both the cryoprotective and lyoprotective effects of the polymer hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) on the model protein Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) during freeze thawing and freeze drying cycles. The effect of annealing on both protein stability and the physical state of HEC was evaluated. HEC was used as a sole excipient in the protein formulations, and its stabilizing was compared to that of other excipients which are commonly used in freeze dried protein formulations. Furthermore, other quality aspects of the freeze dried samples containing solely HEC were investigated, such as, reconstitution time and product elegance. Protein stability was evaluated functionally by measuring the activity recovery of the model protein LDH. The physical state of HEC after freeze drying was investigated and compared to this of other studied solutes using differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffractometry. HEC showed superior cryoprotective effects on LDH during freeze thawing, and considerable lyoprotective effects during the freeze drying process. Annealing had limited influence on the stabilizing effect of HEC. The extensive reconstitution times of the HEC lyophilisates could be greatly improved by incorporation of the surfactant Tween 80 into the formulations prior to freeze drying.