THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMMUNOASSAYS FOR SCREENING AND MONITORINGCANCER PATIENTS AND THE PREPARATION OF TARGETED IMMUNOCHEMO-THERAPEUTIC AGENTS HAS BECOME AN INTENSE AREA OF RESEARCH.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMMUNOASSAYS FOR SCREENING AND MONITORINGCANCER PATIENTS AND THE PREPARATION OF TARGETED IMMUNOCHEMO-THERAPEUTIC AGENTS HAS BECOME AN INTENSE AREA OF RESEARCH. RAPID ADVANCES IN MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY HAVE MADE POSSIBLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE IMMUNOASSAYS. IT IS ACCEPTED THAT ANTIGENS ARE PRODUCED WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED EITHER QUALITATIVELY OR QUANTITATIVELY WITH NEARLY ALL HUMANTUMOR CELLS. MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES HAVE BEEN PRODUCED WHICHARE CAPABLE OF REACTING WITH ANTIGENS ASSOCIATED WITH ALMOSTALL THE MAJOR TYPES OF HUMAN SOLID TUMORS. DEVELOPMENT OF IMMUNOASSAYS AND TARGETED IMMUNOCHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS REQUIRES MODERN BIOCHEMICAL PROCEDURES FOR ANTIBODY SEPARATION, ANTIGEN ISOLATION AND PURIFICATION, AND DEVELOPMENT OF IMMOBILIZED ANTIBODIES AND ANTIGENS. METHODSOF IMMOBILIZATION MUST BE GENTLE TO RETAIN THE BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF THESE BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES. COUPLING TO INERT MATRICES BY PHOTOCOUPLING WOULD BE MILD AND RAPID. THIS PHOTOCOUPLING CHEMISTRY WILL BE COMBINED WITH THE USE OF HYDROPHILIC SPACERS TO PROVIDE METHODS OF IMMOBILIZATION WHICH RETAIN THE BIOACTIVITIES AND SPECIFICITIES OF THESE BIOLOGICAL REAGENTS. HYDROPHILIC PROTEIN SPACERS WILL BE DERIVED FROM PHOTOACTIVATABLE GROUPS AND COUPLED TO INERT SUPPORTS. BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE MOLECULES WILL THEN BE COUPLED TO THESE SPACERS BY PROTEIN-PROTEIN COUPLING PROCEDURES. BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES WILL BE COMPARED TO DIRECT COUPLING AND FREE SOLUTION ACTIVITIES.