Dy’s effector function, which induces cytobuy GS-4059 toxicity through antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytolysis [135]. The effector function is in fact the predominant mechanism of toxicity for some targeted biologics, such as trastuzumab, and is abolished when utilizing antibody fragments devoid of Fc regions. In a thorough molecular imaging study, Sexton et al. compared the differential tumor distribution andTheranostics 2016, Vol. 6, IssueFor example, Single-domain antibody fragments called nanobodies that are selective for EGFR have been conjugated to the PS IRDye700DX?and used for in vivo PDT of head and neck cancers [141]. The authors compared a monovalent nanobody PIC (15 kDa) with a CEP-37440 msds biparatopic internalizing nanobody PIC (30 kDa) and found that the biparatopic variant exhibited a two-fold higher selectivity as compared to the monovalent equivalent. Furthermore, tumor-to-normal selectivity of both the monovalent and biaparatpic PIC was found to be approximately 7.5-fold higher at 24 hrs following administration than at 1 hr. Although the biparatopic nanobody PIC was more phototoxic in vitro than the monovalent equivalent, results of the in vivo PDT were the opposite. The authors attributed the improved in vivo PDT efficacy and apparent increase in tumor penetration of the monovalent nanobody PIC to its smaller size. However, this experimental evidence might allude to the binding site barrier hypothesis where the bivalent nanobody PIC (equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) = 1.0 nM) exhibits a higher receptor affinity than the monovalent PIC (Kd = 1.9 nM) and is thus less able to penetrate the tumor. The binding site barrier hypothesis states that an inverse correlation exists between the binding affinity of targeted probes and their penetration within target tissue [142]. Thus, a lower affinity for the target may improve tumor penetration of the targeted probe and its homogenous distribution within the tumor, at the expense of reduced in vivo selectivity. In contrast, an increase in avidity has been shown to improve the biological activity of targeted therapeutics at the cellular level, where the affinity of target binding positively correlates with treatment response [136]. Watanbe et al. reported a comparative study of the biodistribution and selectivity of three different engineered Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) PICs generated from IRDye700DX?PS conjugates of a full-length antibody (150 kDa), a minibody (80 kDa) and a diabody (50 kDa) [143]. Interestingly, the authors found that the antibody PIC and the minibody PIC had the highest selectivity towards a PSMA-positive tumor at 24 hrs following administration, with respect to a contralateral PSMA-negative tumor. However, the largest intertumoral difference of the nanobody PIC was observed at 6 hrs after injection. Although the selectivity of the minibody PIC was approximately 5.7-fold and 6.7-fold higher than the antibody PIC and the nanobody PIC, respectively, the antibody PIC was the most effective at delaying tumor regrowth following PDT. Furthermore, PDT using the antibody PIC prolonged mouse survival more than PDT using the minibody and nanobody PICs. The experimentalevidence suggests that the impact of molecular weight on the PIC’s overall efficacy must be viewed in conjunction with the multiple other influential properties. Therefore, the size of a PIC, in combination with other biochemical properties of PICs, may be selected to perform spe.Dy’s effector function, which induces cytotoxicity through antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytolysis [135]. The effector function is in fact the predominant mechanism of toxicity for some targeted biologics, such as trastuzumab, and is abolished when utilizing antibody fragments devoid of Fc regions. In a thorough molecular imaging study, Sexton et al. compared the differential tumor distribution andTheranostics 2016, Vol. 6, IssueFor example, Single-domain antibody fragments called nanobodies that are selective for EGFR have been conjugated to the PS IRDye700DX?and used for in vivo PDT of head and neck cancers [141]. The authors compared a monovalent nanobody PIC (15 kDa) with a biparatopic internalizing nanobody PIC (30 kDa) and found that the biparatopic variant exhibited a two-fold higher selectivity as compared to the monovalent equivalent. Furthermore, tumor-to-normal selectivity of both the monovalent and biaparatpic PIC was found to be approximately 7.5-fold higher at 24 hrs following administration than at 1 hr. Although the biparatopic nanobody PIC was more phototoxic in vitro than the monovalent equivalent, results of the in vivo PDT were the opposite. The authors attributed the improved in vivo PDT efficacy and apparent increase in tumor penetration of the monovalent nanobody PIC to its smaller size. However, this experimental evidence might allude to the binding site barrier hypothesis where the bivalent nanobody PIC (equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) = 1.0 nM) exhibits a higher receptor affinity than the monovalent PIC (Kd = 1.9 nM) and is thus less able to penetrate the tumor. The binding site barrier hypothesis states that an inverse correlation exists between the binding affinity of targeted probes and their penetration within target tissue [142]. Thus, a lower affinity for the target may improve tumor penetration of the targeted probe and its homogenous distribution within the tumor, at the expense of reduced in vivo selectivity. In contrast, an increase in avidity has been shown to improve the biological activity of targeted therapeutics at the cellular level, where the affinity of target binding positively correlates with treatment response [136]. Watanbe et al. reported a comparative study of the biodistribution and selectivity of three different engineered Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) PICs generated from IRDye700DX?PS conjugates of a full-length antibody (150 kDa), a minibody (80 kDa) and a diabody (50 kDa) [143]. Interestingly, the authors found that the antibody PIC and the minibody PIC had the highest selectivity towards a PSMA-positive tumor at 24 hrs following administration, with respect to a contralateral PSMA-negative tumor. However, the largest intertumoral difference of the nanobody PIC was observed at 6 hrs after injection. Although the selectivity of the minibody PIC was approximately 5.7-fold and 6.7-fold higher than the antibody PIC and the nanobody PIC, respectively, the antibody PIC was the most effective at delaying tumor regrowth following PDT. Furthermore, PDT using the antibody PIC prolonged mouse survival more than PDT using the minibody and nanobody PICs. The experimentalevidence suggests that the impact of molecular weight on the PIC’s overall efficacy must be viewed in conjunction with the multiple other influential properties. Therefore, the size of a PIC, in combination with other biochemical properties of PICs, may be selected to perform spe.