Background
The name of Chinese: semetreutide
The name of English: semaglutide
CAS number 910463-68-2
Molecular formula C187H291N45O59
Molecular weight 4113.64
The structure is as follows:
the semaglutide is a new generation of long-acting GLP-1 analogue developed and developed by Novonide company, is used for treating type II diabetes, has the effects of reducing weight and protecting cardiovascular besides reducing blood sugar, and is a medicament with the best effects of reducing blood sugar and reducing weight in GLP-1 medicaments at present. The FDA approved the injectable dosage form to market in 2017, and approved the oral dosage form to market in No. 9/20 in 2019.
Semetreuptade is a GLP-1 analog, and has 94% homology with human GLP-1. The long-acting mechanism of semaglutide is based on the modification of the structure, and semaglutide is modified to alpha-aminoisobutyric acid at the 8 th position for increasing the stabilization effect and avoiding the degradation by DPP-4 enzyme. In addition, through structural modification, the position of the 26 th lysine of the peptide chain is connected with the 18-carbon aliphatic diacid side chain, compared with the liraglutide of C16, the affinity of the increased carbon chain to albumin is enhanced by 5-6 times, and the increased carbon chain is combined with albumin, so that the molecular weight of the product is increased, the phenomenon that the product is rapidly cleared by the kidney and prevented from metabolic degradation is avoided, and the half-life period in vivo is prolonged. And lysine at position 34 was replaced with arginine to ensure stability of the C18 side chain at position 26. Therefore, the product has a half-life of up to 1 week, and the semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, binds and activates a GLP-1 receptor, stimulates insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent manner by mediating the GLP-1 receptor, and reduces glucagon secretion. In addition, a decrease in blood glucose is also associated with delayed gastric emptying during the initial phase of a meal.
More published technologies on polypeptide purification appear at present, for example, CN201711474148 discloses a method for purifying semaglutide, CN201811482820 discloses a filler special for semaglutide purification and a purification method thereof, CN201911201916 discloses a separation and purification method of semaglutide, and CN201810663478 discloses a method for purifying semaglutide. The existing purification method has the problems of unstable dissolution method of a crude peptide sample, unobvious removal of specific impurities, low purification yield and the like.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention provides a purification process of semaglutide, which has strong operability, simple and stable process and high yield aiming at the physicochemical characteristics of the semaglutide.
In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:
a method for purifying semaglutide comprising the steps of:
1) obtaining a solid-phase synthesis method cracking resin and the simetrexed crude peptide with a protective group removed, and dissolving the simetrexed crude peptide by using a phosphate buffer solution containing an organic solvent;
2) filtering the crude peptide solution of the Semetreuptatide by using a 0.22-micron organic filter membrane, and collecting the filtrate for later use;
3) the first step of purification is to use reversed phase filler as a fixed phase, use a buffer salt solution containing an organic solvent as an A phase and acetonitrile as a B phase, perform gradient elution, collect components with the purity of more than 95 percent and the single impurity of less than 0.8 percent and concentrate the components;
4) the second step of purification is to take reversed phase filler as a fixed phase, dilute acetic acid solution as an A phase and acetonitrile as a B phase, perform gradient elution and collect components with the purity of more than 99.5 percent and the single impurity of less than 0.1 percent;
5) and (4) freeze-drying the concentrated sample to obtain the semaglutide. Putting the mixture into a freeze-drying tray for freeze-drying, wherein the desorption temperature of freeze-drying is 35 ℃, and the vacuum pressure is 0.1 pa.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the organic solvent used for dissolving the sample in step 1) is a polar organic reagent, preferably at least one of methanol, acetonitrile, ethanol and isopropanol, and more preferably acetonitrile.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the organic solvent used for dissolving the sample in step 3) is a polar organic reagent, preferably at least one of methanol, acetonitrile, ethanol and isopropanol, and more preferably acetonitrile.
In an embodiment of the invention, the volume percentage of organic solvent is 10% to 30%, preferably 15% to 25%; and the volume percentage difference of the organic solvent in the step 1) and the step 3) is not more than 10 percent.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the phosphate buffer solution in step 1) and step 3) includes a buffer salt system of triethylamine phosphate, disodium hydrogen phosphate and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, wherein triethylamine phosphate is preferred, the volume percentage of triethylamine phosphate is 0.05% -0.8%, step 1) is preferred to be 0.2%, and step 2) is preferred to be 0.2%.
In the examples of the present invention, the phosphate buffer solution described in step 1) and step 3) has a pH of 6.5 to 9, preferably a pH of 7 to 8. The pH is preferably adjusted with triethylamine.
In the embodiment of the invention, the reversed-phase filler in the step 3) comprises tetraalkylsilane bonded silica filler and octaalkylsilane bonded silica filler, and the particle size of the reversed-phase filler is between 5 and 100 micrometers; octaalkylsilane bonded silica fillers, 10 μm, are preferred.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the reversed phase filler in step 4) is an octadecylsilane bonded silica filler having a particle size of between 5 and 100 μm, preferably 10 μm.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the concentration of the dilute acetic acid in the step 4) is 0.01-1.0% (volume ratio), preferably 0.2% (volume ratio).
In the examples of the present invention, the method of gradient elution in step 3) is a%: 80% -60%, B%: 20-40%, linear gradient elution for 60 min.
In the examples of the present invention, the method of gradient elution in step 4) is a%: 70% -50%, B%: 30% -50%, linear gradient elution for 60 min.
In an embodiment of the invention, the purification method is a method for removing racemic impurities of semaglutide, preferably, the racemic impurities of semaglutide are H-D-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-Ala-Ala-Lys (AEEA-AEEA-Gamma-Glu-OCDA) -Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH [ His ] (His-Glu-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ala-Lys1Racemization and H-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-D-Ala-Ala-Lys (AEEA-AEEA-Gamma-Glu-OCDA) -Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH [ Ala18Racemization ].
In the examples of the present invention, H-D-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-Ala-Ala-Lys (AEEA-AEEA- γ -Glu-OCDA) -Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH [ His1 rac ] indicates racemization of His at position 1 in semaglutide.
In the examples of the present invention, H-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-D-Ala-Ala-Lys (AEEA-AEEA-Gamma-Glu-OCDA) -Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH [ Ala18Racemization ] refers to racemization of Ala at position 18 in semaglutide.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following advantages:
1. the crude peptide of the semaglutide contains a large amount of trifluoroacetic acid, the pH value of a crude peptide solution is difficult to control by dissolving the crude peptide with dilute ammonia water or acetonitrile in the prior art, the pH value of the dissolved crude peptide solution is more stable and difficult to separate out by dissolving the crude peptide with phosphate buffer solution containing organic solvent, thereby avoiding the blockage of a chromatographic column and equipment and improving the separation effect. Meanwhile, the dissolving capacity of the crude peptide is increased, and the concentration of the crude peptide reaches 50 g/L.
2. The solubility of the semaglutide and impurities thereof is particularly poor, and the A mobile phase and the crude peptide dissolving solution in the step 3) are basically the same, so that the separation of the sample caused by overlarge difference of a mobile phase system when the sample enters a chromatographic column is avoided, and the diffusion effect of the sample on a column head is reduced.
3. The first step of purification adopts octaalkylsilane bonded silica filler, organic solvent-containing buffer salt as phase A and acetonitrile as phase B, and performs gradient elution to remove most impurities and fragment impurities of semaglutide, especially partial defective peptide.
Such as: H-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-Ala-Ala-Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH [ Des-Lys (AEEA-AEEA-gamma-Glu-OCDA)20】、H-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-Ala-Ala-Lys(AEEA-AEEA-γ-Glu-OCDA)-Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH【Des-Ser11】、H-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-Ala-Lys(AEEA-AEEA-γ-Glu-OCDA)-Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH【Des-Ala18】
4. And the second step of purification adopts octadecylsilane chemically bonded silica filler, dilute acetic acid solution as phase A and acetonitrile as phase B, and performs gradient elution to remove racemized impurities which are difficult to remove in the semaglutide. Such as: [ His ]1Rac and [ Ala ]18Racemization ].
4.1 Synthesis of impurities H-D-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-Ala-Ala-Lys (AEEA-AEEA-Gamma-Glu-OCDA) -Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH [ His ]1Racemization it was confirmed that the racemic impurity remained for 9.851min in the first purification step (FIG. 3), which was 0.36% after the first purification step, and was completely removed after the second purification step of our invention.
4.2 Synthesis of the impurity H-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-D-Ala-Ala-Lys(AEEA-AEEA-γ-Glu-OCDA)-Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH【Ala18Racemization it was confirmed that the racemic impurity remained for 10.256min in the first purification control process (FIG. 3), which was 0.73% after the first purification step, and was completely removed after the second purification step of our invention.
5. In the prior art, ammonia water is used for adjusting the pH value, and triethylamine is used for adjusting the pH value, so that the triethylamine can inhibit the tailing of a preparation peak more than the ammonia water; further, the purity of the fraction collected in the first step of purification is more than 95%, which is greatly improved compared with the prior art.
Detailed Description
In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, specific embodiments thereof are described in detail below, but the present invention is not to be construed as being limited to the implementable range thereof.
EXAMPLE 1 crude peptide pretreatment
Preparing a dissolving buffer solution: 2mL of phosphoric acid was measured and poured into 750mL of water, the pH was adjusted to 8.0 with triethylamine, 200mL of acetonitrile was added, and the volume was adjusted to 1L with water. Taking 1L of prepared dissolving buffer solution, adding 30g of crude peptide, carrying out ultrasonic stirring to completely dissolve the sample, filtering by using a 0.22 mu m organic filter membrane, and collecting filtrate.
EXAMPLE 2 first step purification
And (3) purification conditions: a chromatographic column: the chromatographic column using the octaalkylsilane bonded silica as a stationary phase has the following diameters and lengths: 5cm × 25 cm. Mobile phase: phase A: 0.2% phosphoric acid (v/v) in 20% acetonitrile (v/v) water, adjusted to pH8.0 with triethylamine; phase B: acetonitrile, flow rate: 80mL/min, gradient: b%: 20-40%, and linear gradient elution for 60 min; detection wavelength: 230 nm. The amount of the sample was 5.0 g. Collecting the components with the purity of more than 95 percent and the single impurity of less than 0.8 percent to be steamed for standby.
Wherein, the preparation method of the phase A comprises the steps of measuring 2mL of phosphoric acid, pouring 750mL of water, adjusting the pH value to 8.0 by triethylamine, adding 200mL of acetonitrile, and fixing the volume to 1L by water.
EXAMPLE 3 first step concentration of purified fraction
Mixing the collected qualified fractions of the first-step purification of the semaglutide, and performing reduced pressure rotary evaporation and concentration at the water temperature of 30 ℃ and the vacuum degree of-0.09 Mbar to remove most of organic solvent for later use.
EXAMPLE 4 second step purification
And (3) purification conditions: a chromatographic column: the chromatographic column using octadecylsilane chemically bonded silica as a stationary phase has the following diameter and length: 5cm × 25 cm. Mobile phase: phase A: 0.2% (volume ratio) dilute acetic acid solution; phase B: acetonitrile, flow rate: 80mL/min, gradient: b%: 30-50%, linear gradient elution for 60 min; detection wavelength: 230 nm. The amount of sample was 4.11 g. Collecting the components with the purity of more than 99.5 percent and the single impurity of less than 0.1 percent to be rotary evaporated for standby.
EXAMPLE 5 concentration of the second purified fraction
Mixing the collected qualified fractions of the second step of purification of the semaglutide, and performing reduced pressure rotary evaporation and concentration to 20mg/mL at the water temperature of 30 ℃ and the vacuum degree of-0.09 Mbar.
EXAMPLE 6 freezing and drying
And (3) putting the sample into a freeze-drying tray, and freeze-drying at the desorption temperature of 35 ℃ under the vacuum pressure of 0.1Pa to obtain 3.693 g of the semaglutide with the maximum single impurity content of less than 0.1 percent, wherein the total purification yield is 73.86%.
EXAMPLE 7 validation of racemic product
The racemic impurity position was verified by synthesizing the racemic impurity. The racemic impurities include H-D-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-Ala-Ala-Lys (AEEA-AEEA-Gamma-Glu-OCDA) -Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly-OH [ His1 racemization ] and H-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Gly-Gln-D-Ala-Ala-Lys (AEEA-AEEA-Gamma-Glu-OCDA) -Glu-Phe-Ile-Ala-Trp -Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-OH [ Ala18 rac ], the retention times of the two racemates were 9.851min and 10.256min, respectively, as verified by the conditions of example 2, and it can be seen from the results of example 2 that the impurities after the first purification were 0.36% and 0.73%, whereas the two racemates were removed after the second purification.
Comparative example 1: pretreatment of crude peptide
The crude peptide was solubilized using the solubilization system shown in the table below. Adding crude peptide into the prepared dissolving buffer solution, performing ultrasonic stirring to completely dissolve the sample, filtering with a 0.22 μm organic filter membrane, and collecting the filtrate.
Because the crude semaglutide is not easy to dissolve, the invention adopts the phosphoric acid aqueous solution with 20 percent of acetonitrile and pH of 8, which can greatly improve the solvent of the crude peptide, can be more efficiently used for column chromatography separation, and overcomes the problem that the prior art can only reduce the sample loading amount and the sample loading concentration. Meanwhile, the solution prepared by the method is very stable, does not precipitate, and can avoid column blockage.
The invention uses a column of 5cm, can load 5g of crude peptide, and greatly improves the separation efficiency and the sample loading amount compared with the prior art.