Properties, production and applications of camelid single-domain antibody fragments

M.M. Harmsen, H.J. de Haard

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    667 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Camelids produce functional antibodies devoid of light chains of which the single N-terminal domain is fully capable of antigen binding. These single-domain antibody fragments (VHHs or Nanobodies®) have several advantages for biotechnological applications. They are well expressed in microorganisms and have a high stability and solubility. Furthermore, they are well suited for construction of larger molecules and selection systems such as phage, yeast, or ribosome display. This minireview offers an overview of (1) their properties as compared to conventional antibodies, (2) their production in microorganisms, with a focus on yeasts, and (3) their therapeutic applications.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)13-22
    JournalApplied Microbiology and Biotechnology
    Volume77
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

    Keywords

    • heavy-chain antibodies
    • rotavirus-induced diarrhea
    • prostate-specific antigen
    • small recognition units
    • saccharomyces-cerevisiae
    • escherichia-coli
    • variable domain
    • light-chains
    • therapeutic proteins
    • crystal-structure

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