Manufacturing Process Affects Coagulation Kinetics of Ortho-R, an Injectable Chitosan–Platelet-Rich Plasma Biomaterial for Tissue Repair

Ortho-R (ChitogenX Inc., Kirkland, QC, Canada) is an injectable combination drug-biologic product that is used as an adjunct to augment the standard of care for the surgical repair of soft tissues. The drug product comprises lyophilized chitosan, trehalose and calcium chloride, and it is dissolved in platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a blood-derived biologic, prior to injection at the surgical site where it will coagulate. The first step of the Ortho-R manufacturing process involves dissolving the chitosan in hydrochloric acid. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of increasing the amount of acid used to dissolve the chitosan on final drug product performance, more specifically, on the chitosan-PRP coagulation kinetics. Chitosans were solubilized in hydrochloric acid, with concentrations adjusted to obtain between 60% and 95% protonation of the chitosan amino groups. Freeze-dried Ortho-R was solubilized with PRP, and coagulation was assessed using thromboelastography (TEG). The clotted mixtures were observed with histology. Clot reaction time (TEG R) increased and clot maximal amplitude (TEG MA) decreased with protonation levels as pH decreased. Chitosan distribution was homogeneous in chitosan-PRP clots at the lowest protonation levels, but it accumulated toward the surface of the clots at the highest protonation levels as pH decreased. These changes in coagulation kinetics, clot strength and chitosan distribution induced by high protonation of the chitosan amino groups were partially reversed by adding sodium hydroxide to the dissolved chitosan component in order to decrease pH. Careful control of manufacturing processes is critical, and it is important to consider the impact of each manufacturing step on product performance.