Characterization of various immunoglobulin preparations for intravenous application. I. Protein composition and antibody content.

In this comparative study we investigated 14 immunoglobulin (Ig) preparations for intravenous application; they were prepared by various manufacturers who used either placental or venous blood as the starting material. The pepsin- and plasmin-treated products and a preparation which, according to the manufacturer, was not degraded enzymatically, contained 17-86% of IgG split products. On the other hand, three chemically modified preparations, one preparation treated at pH 4, for products treated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and one preparation protected by albumin contained 90% or more of non-fragmented IgG. The IgG subclass distribution corresponded to the distribution of subclasses in normal serum only in the nonmodified and not enzymatically degraded preparations. All samples except one contained 0.1 mg/ml IgA or more, all contained only traces of IgM. No product had clinically relevant titers of irregular antibodies against erythrocyte antigens. The content of those antiviral and antibacterial antibodies that were tested for was similar in all preparations. Only the anti-HBs activity exhibited large variations. Some PEG-treated preparations showed an elevated prekallikrein activator (PKA) level, whereas all other preparations contained, if any, only traces of PKA.