Localized Hydration in Lyophilized Myoglobin by Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry. 2. Exchange Kinetics

Solid-state hydrogen-deuterium exchange with mass spectrometric analysis (ssHDX) is a promising method for characterizing proteins in amorphous solids. Though analysis of HDX kinetics is informative and well-established in solution, application of these methods to solid samples is complicated by possible heterogeneities in the solid. The studies reported here provide a detailed analysis of the kinetics of hydration and ssHDX for equine myoglobin (Mb) in solid matrices containing sucrose or mannitol. Water sorption was rapid relative to ssHDX, indicating that ssHDX kinetics was not limited by bulk water transport. Deuterium uptake in solids was well-characterized by a biexponential model; values for regression parameters provided insight into differences between the two solid matrices. Analysis of the widths of peptide mass envelopes revealed that, in solution, an apparent EX2 mechanism prevails, consistent with native conformation of the protein. In contrast, in mannitol-containing samples, a smaller non-native subpopulation exchanges by an EX1-like mechanism. Together, the results indicate that the analysis of ssHDX kinetic data and of the widths of peptide mass envelopes is useful in screening solid formulations of protein drugs for the presence of non-native species that cannot be detected by amide I FTIR.