Editorial

Abstract

I am very pleased to announce that Renuka Thirumangalathu, Theodore W. Randolph, and John F. Carpenter from the University of Colorado and Sampathkumar Krishnan and David N. Brems from Amgen, Inc. were selected to receive the 2007 Ebert Prize. The Ebert Prize is presented annually by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science to the authors of an article published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (JPharmSci™), which describes particularly new, original, and novel findings that have a high probability of significantly impacting the pharmaceutical sciences. The Ebert Prize was established in 1873 and it is the oldest pharmacy award in existence in the United States. The award consists of a silver medallion bearing the likeness of Albert Ethelbert Ebert who was a former APhA President. Ms. Thirumangalathu accepted this silver medallion on behalf of her coauthors from 2007–2008 APhA President Winnie Landis at the 2007 APhA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.The 2007 Ebert Prize was presented to Ms. Thirumangalathu and her coauthors for their outstanding article entitled “Effects of pH, Temperature, and Sucrose on Benzyl Alcohol‐Induced Aggregation of Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (JPharmSci, 95, 1480–1497, 2006)”. In this article, the mechanism of benzyl alcohol‐induced aggregation of recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (rhGCSF) was investigated by determining the effects of temperature, pH, and sucrose on this process. At neutral pH, benzyl alcohol was shown to accelerate aggregation of rhGCSF because it favors partially unfolded aggregation‐prone conformations of the protein. Sucrose partially counteracts benzyl alcohol‐induced rhGCSF aggregation by shifting the molecular population away from these species and toward more compact conformations. At acidic pH, benzyl alcohol induced perturbations in the structure of rhGCSF. However, this did not lead to aggregation of the protein apparently because of unfavorable energetics of intermolecular interactions (i.e., colloidal stability) between rhGCSF molecules at this pH. These observations suggest a general strategy for stabilizing proteins against aggregation, which would involve screening for a pH that optimizes intermolecular charge–charge repulsion.This article was highly recommended to the journal's Editorial Team by the 2007 Ebert Prize Selection Committee which included: Mike Akers, Baxter BioPharma Solutions; Marcus Brewster, Johnson and Johnson; Marilyn Morris, University of Buffalo; James Polli, University of Maryland; Pierre O. Souillac, Genzyme, Inc.; Raj Suryanarayanan, University of Minnesota; and Sam Yalkowsky, University of Arizona. I would like to take this opportunity to thank these individuals for serving on the 2007 Ebert Prize Selection Committee as well as their service on the JPharmSci™ Editorial Advisory Board. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Thirumangalathu and her coauthors for selecting JPharmSci™ as the repository for their excellent scientific work. I am very pleased to announce that Renuka Thirumangalathu, Theodore W. Randolph, and John F. Carpenter from the University of Colorado and Sampathkumar Krishnan and David N. Brems from Amgen, Inc. were selected to receive the 2007 Ebert Prize. The Ebert Prize is presented annually by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science to the authors of an article published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (JPharmSci™), which describes particularly new, original, and novel findings that have a high probability of significantly impacting the pharmaceutical sciences. The Ebert Prize was established in 1873 and it is the oldest pharmacy award in existence in the United States. The award consists of a silver medallion bearing the likeness of Albert Ethelbert Ebert who was a former APhA President. Ms. Thirumangalathu accepted this silver medallion on behalf of her coauthors from 2007–2008 APhA President Winnie Landis at the 2007 APhA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. The 2007 Ebert Prize was presented to Ms. Thirumangalathu and her coauthors for their outstanding article entitled “Effects of pH, Temperature, and Sucrose on Benzyl Alcohol‐Induced Aggregation of Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (JPharmSci, 95, 1480–1497, 2006)”. In this article, the mechanism of benzyl alcohol‐induced aggregation of recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (rhGCSF) was investigated by determining the effects of temperature, pH, and sucrose on this process. At neutral pH, benzyl alcohol was shown to accelerate aggregation of rhGCSF because it favors partially unfolded aggregation‐prone conformations of the protein. Sucrose partially counteracts benzyl alcohol‐induced rhGCSF aggregation by shifting the molecular population away from these species and toward more compact conformations. At acidic pH, benzyl alcohol induced perturbations in the structure of rhGCSF. However, this did not lead to aggregation of the protein apparently because of unfavorable energetics of intermolecular interactions (i.e., colloidal stability) between rhGCSF molecules at this pH. These observations suggest a general strategy for stabilizing proteins against aggregation, which would involve screening for a pH that optimizes intermolecular charge–charge repulsion. This article was highly recommended to the journal's Editorial Team by the 2007 Ebert Prize Selection Committee which included: Mike Akers, Baxter BioPharma Solutions; Marcus Brewster, Johnson and Johnson; Marilyn Morris, University of Buffalo; James Polli, University of Maryland; Pierre O. Souillac, Genzyme, Inc.; Raj Suryanarayanan, University of Minnesota; and Sam Yalkowsky, University of Arizona. I would like to take this opportunity to thank these individuals for serving on the 2007 Ebert Prize Selection Committee as well as their service on the JPharmSci™ Editorial Advisory Board. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Thirumangalathu and her coauthors for selecting JPharmSci™ as the repository for their excellent scientific work.