A PIG COLLAGEN PEPTIDE FRACTION - A UNIQUE MATERIAL FOR MAINTAINING BIOLOGICAL-ACTIVITY DURING LYOPHILIZATION AND DURING STORAGE IN THE LIQUID-STATE

There is frequent use of human and animal proteins as stabilizers duri ng lyophilization of a variety of biological substances with a view to long term stable storage. This report describes the comparative excel lent stabilizing effect of a porcine collagen peptide fraction (CPF) d uring the lyophilization and subsequent storage of three commonly used biological substances, alkaline phosphatase, tissue plasminogen activ ator and thrombin. The CPF was heated to 150 degrees C for one hour be fore use. The CPF was shown to have some advantage during lyophilized storage over human serum albumin. Solutions of thrombin stored in CPF at room temperature and at 37 degrees C for one week retained nearly a ll activity, while storage of thrombin in human serum albumin solution at 37 degrees C lost nearly all biological activity. These preliminar y data suggest that porcine CPF is a safe and advantageous stabilizer for addition to biological products with a view to long-term lyophiliz ed storage and short-term liquid storage.