Dendrigraft poly-L-lysine: a non-immunogenic synthetic carrier for antibody production.

An easily synthesized DendriGraft poly-lysine DGL-G3 (third generation) was shown to act as an efficient carrier for raising antibodies directed against small molecules. The immunological properties of three different forms of DGL-G3 were investigated: the native form (molecular weight 22 kDa bearing a mean number of 123 surface amino groups as TFA salts), a form modified at the C-terminus by fluorescein (fluorescein-DGL-G3), and last a surface-modified form bearing histamine (DGL-G3-Histamine). Our studies demonstrate the native DGL-G3 to be inefficient in eliciting antibody production in rabbits. Immunizations of rabbits using the core-modified fluorescein-DGL-G3 or the surface-modified DGL-G3-histamine conjugate failed in eliciting antibody production. Conversely, following a primary immunization using a BSA-histamine conjugate, a second immunization with DGL-G3-histamine conjugate improved the production of specific hapten-directed antibodies, which demonstrates the utility of DGL-G3 as a carrier for the production of highly specific antibody against haptens.