Issue 3, 2021

Nanobodies as in vivo, non-invasive, imaging agents

Abstract

In vivo imaging has become in recent years an incredible tool to study biological events and has found critical applications in diagnostic medicine. Although a lot of efforts and applications have been achieved using monoclonal antibodies, other types of delivery agents are being developed. Among them, VHHs, antigen binding fragments derived from camelid heavy chain–only antibodies, also known as nanobodies, have particularly attracted attention. Indeed, their stability, fast clearance, good tissue penetration, high solubility, simple cloning and recombinant production make them attractive targeting agents for imaging modalities such as PET, SPECT or Infra-Red. In this review, we discuss the pioneering work that has been carried out using VHHs and summarize the recent developments that have been made using nanobodies for in vivo, non-invasive, imaging.

Graphical abstract: Nanobodies as in vivo, non-invasive, imaging agents

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Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
03 Feb 2021
Accepted
02 Mar 2021
First published
08 Mar 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Chem. Biol., 2021,2, 685-701

Nanobodies as in vivo, non-invasive, imaging agents

T. J. Harmand, A. Islam, N. Pishesha and H. L. Ploegh, RSC Chem. Biol., 2021, 2, 685 DOI: 10.1039/D1CB00023C

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