We have developed a method for attachment of the macrocyclic chelating agent 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane N,N',N",N"'-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) to proteins by activation of a single carboxyl group with N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide (sulfo-NHS). The sulfo-NHS active ester of DOTA was prepared in a single step using 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide (EDC), and DOTA conjugates of cytochrome c and the anti-carcinoembryonic antigen chimeric monoclonal antibody cT84.66 were prepared by adding the DOTA active ester reaction mixture to the proteins at pH 8.5-9.0. Mass spectrometry of the cytochrome c conjugates showed that as the molar ratio of DOTA active ester to protein in the reaction mixture was increased from 10:1 to 100:1, the average number of chelators attached to the protein molecule increased from 2.64 to 8.79. When DOTA active ester reacted with the antibody at a molar ratio of 100:1, the conjugate averaged 3.8 chelates per antibody. Immunoreactivity of the antibody conjugate radiolabeled with 111In(III) and 90Y(III) remained quantitative. Variation of the DOTA:sulfo-NHS:EDC activation stoichiometry from 2:2:1 to 10:10:1 revealed that the kinetic stability of the radioconjugates increased as the molar ratio of carbodiimide, relative to DOTA and sulfo-NHS, was decreased. Radiolabeling of the protein conjugates with 111In(III) and 90Y(III) proved to be sensitive to pH, buffer, and temperature effects. The optimum pH for the labeling reaction was different for each protein and may be related to the isoelectric point of the protein. Radiometal incorporation at high specific activity was accomplished in acetate and Tris buffers, but the presence of citrate inhibited the labeling reaction. Increasing the temperature of the radiolabeling reaction from 25 to 43 degrees C greatly increased both the efficiency of radiometal incorporation and the kinetic stability of the radioconjugates. Stability studies of the conjugates in human serum and in the presence of a 5000- to 250,000-fold excess of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) demonstrated that the radiolabeled proteins are kinetically inert under physiological conditions. In serum, the 111In(III)-labeled antibody showed a rate of radiometal loss of approximately 0.08% per day. In the presence of excess DTPA, both conjugates lost 111In(III) at a rate of about 0.3% per day. No loss of 90Y(III) from the conjugates was observed in serum, but in excess DTPA, both 90Y(III) labeled proteins showed a rate of radiometal loss of approximately 0.2% per day. Therefore, kinetic analysis of metal loss from a radiolabeled immunoconjugate in the presence of a vast excess of DTPA may provide a better indication of the in vivo stability of that immunoconjugate than serum stability studies.