Antibody Engineering for Nuclear Imaging and Radioimmunotherapy

Abstract

Radiolabeled antibodies have become indispensable tools in nuclear medicine. However, the natural roles of antibodies within the immune system mean that they have several intrinsic limitations as a platform for radiopharmaceuticals. In recent years, the field has increasingly turned to antibody engineering to circumvent these issues while retaining the manifold benefits of the immunoglobulin framework. In this Focus on Molecular Imaging review, we cover recent advances in the application of antibody engineering to immunoPET, immunoSPECT, and radioimmunotherapy. Specifically, we address how antibody engineering has been used to improve radioimmunoconjugates on four fronts: (i) optimizing pharmacokinetics, (ii) facilitating site-specific bioconjugation, (iii) modulating Fc interactions, and (iv) creating bispecific constructs.