RESUMO
Two carbohydrates, N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) and galactose-beta-1,3-GalNAc have been attached to human IgG (hIgG) by a novel linking reagent, hexafluoroglutaric acid dimethyl ester. Fluorine-19 NMR signals were used for the determination of the conjugation ratio. A third carbohydrate, sialic acid, was conjugated via reductive amination and the conjugation ratio determined by a resorcinol assay. The biological behaviour of these radioiodinated antibodies with carbohydrate modifications in normal mice indicates an enhanced liver uptake at 15 min post-injection with an associated change in circulating blood levels occurs for the galactose-based hIgG preparations. However, no significant differences in the biodistribution were observed for the sialic acid conjugate. These studies confirm the potential of carbohydrate-antibody conjugation for modifying the behaviour of antibodies in immunoscintigraphy and radioimmunotherapy.