BioCentury
ARTICLE | Translation in Brief

Conformist nanobodies

How a new synthetic nanobody platform enables conformation-specific binding

June 28, 2018 10:51 PM UTC

A University of Zurich team in collaboration with Roche has figured out how to make fully synthetic nanobodies that can bind to membrane proteins in specific conformations -- simultaneously opening up new target space for the modality while freeing it from production in animals.

Nanobodies are single-domain antibody fragments derived from camelids. Nanobodies lack a light chain but retain antigen specificity and affinity. Their small size confers the advantage of being able to penetrate tissues that conventional antibodies cannot...