Dual effects of Tween 80 on protein stability

In this paper, we used IL-2 mutein as a model protein and evaluated the effect of Tween 80, a non-ionic surfactant. In summary, we found that the dual effects of Tween 80 on the stability of IL-2SA, such as that shaking-induced aggregation of IL-2 mutein was significantly inhibited in the presence of Tween 80. However, this surfactant adversely affected the stability of IL-2 mutein in solution during storage in terms of both oxidation and aggregation. These adverse effects are strongly temperature and formulation-dependent. Data particularly showed that IL-2 mutein in solution forms soluble aggregates to a different degree in different formulations during storage at 40 °C for 2 months. Aggregation was barely detectable during storage at 5 °C for 22 months. Addition of 0.1% Tween 80 significantly increased the rate of IL-2 mutein aggregation during storage. The IL-2 mutein aggregates are linked by both disulfide and non-disulfide bonds and their relative contribution is temperature-dependent. IL-2 mutein can be oxidized also to a different degree in different formulations during storage and the oxidation rate is strongly temperature-dependent with an activation energy between 21 and 25 kcal/mol. Addition of 0.1% Tween 80 not only increased the rate of oxidation in general but also altered the temperature-dependency of IL-2 mutein oxidation.