03 Nov High Resolution Mass Spectrometry with Automated Data Analysis to Support Structural Elucidation of Degradation Impurities of Small Peptides

Ismael Zamora1, Blanca Serra1, Yuejie Zhao2, Yong Liu2, Kevin P. Bateman3

1 Lead Molecular Design S.L., Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain, 2 Analytical Sciences, MRL, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA , 3 Department of Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and drug metabolism, MRL, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA

Structural elucidation of drug substance related impurities in drug products to identify specific degradation pathways is important for the development of formulated drugs, optimization of manufacturing process and in certain cases a requirement for regulatory submissions. The present work utilized an in-silico data processing tool MassChemSite, which has been developed to automate data analysis and to facilitate the structural elucidation of drug degradants by LC-MS/MS. The software was customized to work on structure modifications introduced by common degradation chemistries for small peptides.