Improved radioiodination of biomolecules using exhaustive Chloramine-T oxidation

To improve standardization in analytical reagents we investigated Chloramine-T radioiodination (125I) of several biomolecules based on the use of a single amount of the oxidizing agent Chloramine-T as the limiting reagent being exhausted during the course of the reaction. Whenever the labeling yield resulted in less than one atom 125I/molecule, a second amount of the oxidizing agent was added. Thereafter, the integrity of the various biomolecules was assessed using radioimmunoassays, radioreceptor binding assays, or radioimmunometric assays. Purification yields were done by gel permeation (56% +/- 19%, n=230) or by precipitation with trichloroacetic acid (59% +/- 19%, n=230). Specific activity (117 +/- 61 MBq/nmol) and the degree of iodine incorporation (1.4 +/- 0.8 atoms of 125I/molecule) were achieved after 300 sec of incubation. A second addition of Chloramine-T resulted in an increased labeling yield of all biomolecules tested by a mean factor of 1.8 +/- 0.9. After the second addition of Chloramine-T, we observed for some biomolecules a significant (p<0.001) decreased effect in biological performance. In conclusion, the use of Chloramine-T as a limiting reagent resulted in molecules with appropriate immunological and biological performance. In general, tracers were minimally damaged and assessment of the shelf life as well as storing conditions showed the usefulness of the standardization of biomolecule labeling.