Nanobodies ®

Nanobodies® are a unique form of monoclonal antibodies, characterized by a single antigen binding domain, present in camels. The Department of Cellular and Molecular Interactions discovered the unique properties of camelid antibodies several years ago and subsequently optimized the nanobody™ technology and its applications.

Recombinant Nanobodies™ are small (15kDa) and strictly monomeric. They bind the target with nM affinity, are stable and easy to manipulate. Moreover, the Nanobodies™ often bind to epitopes that are less immunogenic for conventional antibodies, such as the active sites of enzymes. Due to their small size, they also target areas that are not accessible to standard antibodies. Another advantage is that they are well expressed in bacterial expression systems so that they are cheaper and easier to produce (at mg/liter culture) in all kind of formats than standard monoclonal antibodies.

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