Aim: To perform a site-specific conjugation of Fab' fragments of a mouse monoclonal antibody(MoAb) B43(of IgG 1 subtype) to a bifunctional chelator 6-[p-(bromoacetamido) benzyl]-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane-N,N',N'',N'''-tetraacetic acid (BAT) via the thiol groups in the hinge distal to the antigenbinding site of the Fab'. Methods: B43 was cleaved using a simple 2-step method. First, stable F(ab') 2 was produced by pepsin treatment. Fab' with free thiol in the hinge region was then obtained by cysteine reduction of F(ab') 2 . Second, a sitespecific conjugation of Fab' to thiol-specific BAT was performed in a one-step reaction. Results: The Fab' fragment had approximately 1.8 free thiol groups per molecule after cysteine reduction. The conjugation efficiency and the chemical yield were approximately 1.28 moles chelator/Fab' and 74% of the initial concentration of Fab', respectively. The F(ab') 2 , Fab' and Fab'-BAT all maintained reasonable antigen-binding properties.
67Cu labeling of the conjugate under standard conditions did not impair the immunoreactivity of Fab'-BAT. Conclusion: This is a simple and efficient method for producing immunoreactive conjugates of Fab'-BAT, which can be used to make radiometal-labeled conjugates for further diagnostic and therapeutic applications.