Conjugation technique

Antibody component directed against tumor antigen 

Protein toxin possessing cytotoxic properties in vivo 

It became apparent very early in the development of such agents that their conception and design was much easier to imagine than to successfully implement. Monoclonal antibodies used 

With the great diversity of targeted toxic agents being developed for cancer therapy, it would be difficult to characterize this section strictly as antibody conjugation. While many, 

Due to the extraordinary toxicity of intact ribosome-inactivating toxins like ricin, abrin, and modeccin, purification and handling of these proteins must be done with extreme care. Even dust from crude seed powders or lyophilized proteins should be considered dangerous. During 

---

Protein molecules are perhaps the most common targets for modification or conjugation techniques. As the mediators of specific activities and functions within living organisms, proteins can be used in vitro and in vivo to effect certain tasks. Having enough of a protein that can bind a... 

Cysteine sulfhydryls and cystine disulfides may undergo a variety of reactions, including alkylation to form stable thioether derivatives, acylation to form relatively unstable thioesters, and a number of oxidation and reduction processes (Figure 1.10). Derivatization of the side chain sulfhydryl of cysteine is one of the most important reactions of modification and conjugation techniques for proteins. 

Retention of native carbohydrate structure also is important in applications that utilize the conjugated polysaccharide in binding studies with receptors or lectins. In these cases, the carbohydrate should be modified at limited sites, preferentially only at its reducing end. Section 4.6 of this chapter discusses glycan conjugation techniques in greater detail. 

The following methods are generalized to provide an overview of how SPDP can be used in these conjugation techniques. The appropriate optimization for a particular toxin conjugate should be done. 

---