Dendrimer-coupled antibody conjugate conjugates

As described above, the dendrimer-coupled antibody conjugates show uniquely enhanced properties compared to the classical double antibody systems. Important characteristics such as complete solubility in aqueous buffers, flexibility in immunoassay format, ability to improve assay sensitivity, consistent, reproducible manufacturing and favorable stability has driven the utilization of these dendrimer-based reagents in Stratus CS, the latest member of the Stratus family of immunochemistry analyzers. In this new analyzer system, the primary... 

Use of sulfo-NHS-LC-SPDP or other heterobifunctional crosslinkers to modify PAMAM dendrimers may be done along with the use of a secondary conjugation reaction to couple a detectable label or another protein to the dendrimer surface. Patri et al. (2004) used the SPDP activation method along with amine-reactive fluorescent labels (FITC or 6-carboxytetramethylrhodamine succinimidyl ester) to create an antibody conjugate, which also was detectable by fluorescent imaging. Thomas et al. (2004) used a similar procedure and the same crosslinker to thiolate dendrimers for conjugation with sulfo-SMCC-activated antibodies. In this case, the dendrimers were labeled with FITC at a level of 5 fluorescent molecules per G-5 PAMAM molecule. 

A common choice of crosslinker for this type of reaction is sulfo-SMCC, which has been used extensively for antibody conjugation (Chapter 20, Section 1.1). A better option for dendrimer conjugation is to use a similar crosslinker design, but one that contains a hydrophilic PEG spacer arm to promote dendrimer hydrophilicity after modification. Derivatization of an amine-dendrimer with a NHS-PEG-maleimide can create an intermediate that is coated with water-soluble PEG spacers. This modification helps to mask any potential for nonspecific interactions that the PAMAM surface may have, while providing terminal thiol-reactive maleimides for coupling ligands (Figure 7.10). 

The RPIA technology has been enhanced in the Stratus CS system by utilization of a dendrimer-antibody complex in which the analyte-specific capture antibody is covalenty coupled onto a dendrimer. The test packs in the Stratus CS system include dendrimer-capture antibody complex reagent, the alkaline phosphatase labeled antibody conjugate reagent, the substrate-wash reagent and a piece of glass fiber filter paper as the solid phase. Preparation and unique properties associated with these dendrimer-coupled antibody complexes are described below. 

Figure 7.11 Oxidation of glycoproteins with periodate, such as glycosylated antibodies, results in the formation of aldehyde groups that can be used for conjugation to dendrimers containing amine groups. Reductive amination with sodium cyanoborohydride results in coupling via secondary (or tertiary) amine bonds.

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