WATER-SOLUBLE, POLYMER-BASED REAGENTS AND CONJUGATES COMPRISING MOIETIES DERIVED FROM DIVINYL SULFONE

摘要

Water-soluble reagents and conjugates which are particularly well suited for use, for example, in biologically relevant detection, quantification and targetting procedures, e.g. in the fields of immunohistochemistry, detection of immunoreactive species, antibody immobilisation, separation or purification, DNA hybridization tests and flow cytometry, are based on a polymeric carrier molecule having moderate to high molecular weight and to which are covalently attached one or more moieties derived from divinyl sulfone, each of which moieties is attached to the carrier molecule via a covalent linkage formed between one of the two vinyl groups of a divinyl sulfone molecule and a reactive functionality on the polymeric carrier molecule. In reagents of the invention, at least one such attached moiety in its attached state has the remaining vinyl group free and capable of reaction with a molecular species having a functional group, e.g. a hydroxy group or a thiol group, which is reactive towards the free vinyl group. Such a reaction results in the covalent attachment (conjugation) of the molecular species to the polymeric carrier molecule via a linking group derived from divinyl sulfone, the resulting conjugate being an example of a conjugate of the invention. Preferred water-soluble carrier molecules are polysaccharides, particularly dextrans. The molecular species, of which more than one type may be attached to a carrier molecule, may, for example, be selected from antigens, antibodies, haptens, gene probes, hormones, enzymes, drugs, dyes, fluorophores and radioactively labelled substances. Methods are provided for the preparation of reagents and conjugates of the invention.