Conjugation of
monoclonal antibodies to super paramagnetic nanoparticles is an effective method for
cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this study the humanized anti her2/neu
monoclonal antibody-
Herceptin- was conjugated to super paramagnetic
iron oxide (
SPIO) nanoparticles using EDC method. The concentration of the conjugated
antibodies was measured by Bradford assay. The antibody-nanoparticle conjugates were incubated with SKBR-3 and T47D human
breast carcinoma cell lines and the presence of the conjugates on cell surface was confirmed by
Prussian blue iron staining method. Conjugation of
Herceptin to
SPIO resulted in a precipitate-free conjugate containing 20µg antibody/mg
SPIO.
Prussian blue iron-staining of cells showed successful binding of the conjugates to the cell surfaces. Conjugation of
monoclonal antibodies to
SPIO may be a useful method for detection of
tumor cells, especially by MRI techniques.