About Nanobody Production
Single-domain antibodies (nanobodies) are becoming increasingly popular as reagents for biomedical research for therapeutic use, and as reagents for diagnostics. The number of publications citing antibodies is increasing each year with over 2,000 publications cited in PubMed to date. This is due, in large part, to their small size, stability, high affinity, high specificity, ease of manipulation, and ease of production.
Through resources provided by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, our university-based Protein Core is producing single domain antibodies in alpacas on a fee for service structure. Our facility immunizes alpacas with your protein of interest, amplifies the produced pool of nanobody cDNAs by PCR and generates a phagemid library, which is then screened by panning against your protein. Positive clones are sequenced, with nanobodies to your target confirmed by ELISA. Deliverables include the nanobodies to your protein, produced and purified from E. Coli with 1 mg of purified nanobody, the nanobody clone, and its sequence. To date we have successfully generated more than 75 nanobodies. These nanobodies are for research purposes.
In many cases our core can produce your protein for nanobody production by expressing it in E. coli, insect cells, or mammalian cells and purifying it.
The next round of nanobody production will start in early November, 2021. The cost to produce a nanobody is $9,000. To produce a nanobody to your protein we need approximately 1.5 mg of purified protein in PBS or HBS at a concentration of 1 mg/ml or higher. We typically deliver your nanobody within 4 – 6 months. Usually we identify more than one nanobody against a particular protein which can be purchased for a nominal cost. A range of derivatives and conjugates are also available.
To request a nanobody produced to your protein please fill out and return this request form, or contact Lou Hersh:
Nanobody Production Services
Nanobody Production
Includes one verified nanobody clone, its sequence, an expression plasmid and 1 mg of purified nanobody.
Internal Rate: $6,000
External Rate: $9,000
Additional Validated Clones
(if available)
Internal Rate: $400/clone
External Rate: $600/clone
Additional Purified Nanobody
Internal Rate: $400/clone
External Rate: $600/clone
Phagemid Library
Phagemid library from which nanobody was isolated. Library is produced after one round of panning.
Internal Rate: $750
External Rate: $975
Expression Clone Fused to Reporter
Internal Rate: $400
External Rate: $600
Nanobody Library in Phage Display Vector
Nanobody library in phage display vector from alpaca immunized with supplied antigen
Internal Rate: $2,500
External Rate: $3,500
Nanobody Clone Isolated From Naive Alpaca Library
Internal Rate: $2,000
External Rate: $3,000
Maturation of Nanobody Isolated from Naive Alpaca library
Please inquire for quote.
Suggested Reading
Nanobodies: Next Generation of Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics
'Nanobodies: Next Generation of Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics.' Emily Y. Yang and Khalid Shah. Front. Oncol., 23 July 2020
Neutralizing nanobodies bind SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD and block interaction with ACE2
'Neutralizing nanobodies bind SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD and block interaction with ACE2.' Huo et al. Nat. Struct. Biol. 2020 Sep;27(9):846-854.
Immunization of Alpacas (Lama Pacos) with Protein Antigens and Production of Antigen-specific Single-Domain Antibodies
'Immunization of Alpacas (Lama Pacos) with Protein Antigens and Production of Antigen-specific Single-Domain Antibodies.' K. Martin Chow, Sidney W. Whiteheart, Jeffrey R. Smiley, Savita Sharma, Kathy Boaz, Meggie J. Coleman, Alvina Maynard, Louis B. Hersh, Craig W. Vander Kooi. J. Vis Exp 2019 Jan 26;(14
Nanobody approval gives domain antibodies a boost
'Nanobody approval gives domain antibodies a boost.' Morrison C. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2019 Jul;18 (7) : 485-487
Exploiting Nanobodies' Singular Traits
'Exploiting Nanobodies' Singular Traits.' Ingram JR, Schmidt FI, Ploegh HL. Annu Rev Immunol. 2018 Feb 28.
Reporter-nanobody fusions (RANbodies) as versatile, small, sensitive immunohistochemical reagents
'Reporter-nanobody fusions (RANbodies) as versatile, small, sensitive immunohistochemical reagents.' Yamagata M, Sanes JR. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Feb 27;115(9):2126-2131.
Editorial: Single-Domain Antibodies-Biology, Engineering and Emerging Applications
'Editorial: Single-Domain Antibodies-Biology, Engineering and Emerging Applications.' Henry KA, MacKenzie CR. Front Immunol. 2018 Jan 23;9:41.
Nanobodies as novel agents for cancer therapy
'Nanobodies as novel agents for cancer therapy.' Revets H, De Baetselier P, Muyldermans S. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2005 Jan;5(1):111-24. Review
Nanobodies and their potential applications
'Nanobodies and their potential applications.' Hassanzadeh-Ghassabeh G, Devoogdt N, De Pauw P, Vincke C, Muyldermans S. Nanomedicine (Lond). 2013 Jun;8(6):1013-26.
More Questions?
For questions about Nanobody Production, please fill out the following form: