Proximity-Induced Site-Specific Antibody Conjugation

Site-specific antibody conjugates with a well-defined structure and superb therapeutic index are of great interest for basic research, disease diagnostics, and therapy. Here, we develop a novel proximity-induced antibody conjugation strategy enabling site-specific covalent bond formation between functional moieties and native antibodies without antibody engineering or additional UV/chemical treatment. A high conjugation efficiency and specificity was achieved with IgGs from different species and subclasses. The utility of this approach was demonstrated by site-specific conjugation of the small-molecule fluorophore to a native antibody and in vitro characterization of its activities.