What is a nanobody?
Learn About Nanobody Technology like:
- Nano-Traps like the GFP-trap®
- Nano-Boosters for enhancing and reactivating GFP and RFP
- Chromobodies® for live-cell fluorescent immunolabeling
Recombinant technology has changed the game in antibody production!
Nanobodies are tiny, recombinantly produced antigen binding VHH fragments, derived from the Alpaca heavy chain IgG antibody (HCAb).
When compared to traditional monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies, nanobodies are:
- Smaller
- More consistent
- Higher affinity
- Easier to use
Nanobodies are offered in a variety of formats, including Nano-Traps, Nano-Boosters, and Chromobodies® .
ChromoTek nanobodies have many superior performance characteristics:
| Characteristic | Monoclonal Antibody | Poylclonal Antibody | Nanobody |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | ~150 kDa unconjugated (IgG) | ~150 kDa unconjugated (IgG) | Only ~15 kDa unconjugated |
| Binding Affinity | Medium to High (nM - μM Kd values) | Low to Medium (μM Kd values) | Consistently High (pM - nM Kd values) |
| Lot-to-Lot Consistency | High - Hybridoma cell line production can suffer from "drift" | Very Low - Produced in live animals - significant variance between lots and bleeds | Very High - Recombinantly produced from clonal DNA - same product every time! |
How can I use a nanobody?
In short, nearly any way you please!
Nanobodies come in a variety of formats. They are raised against a fairly diverse range of antigens, and are thus highly versatile tools, capable of being employed in a variety of different situations.
The most common uses for a nanobody are experiments that you are likely already familiar with, like immunoprecipitation, or fluorescence microscopy.
There are also a handful of applications where use of a nanobody is feasible, but use of a conventional antibody would be impractical or impossible.
ChromoTek nanobodies are highly versatile reagents:
| Application | ChromoTek | Advantages |
|---|---|---|
| Immunoprecipitation | Nano-Traps | Faster, cleaner, more consistent IPs without heavy & light chain contamination |
| Live Cell Imaging | Chromobodies® | Immunolabel intracellular structures in live cells simply and efficiently |
| Fluorescent Protein Enhancement | Nano-Boosters | Reactivate dead fluorescent proteins, or enhance the brightness & photostability of GFP or RFP |
What is a Nano-Trap?
Nano-Traps are nanobodies that have been conjugated to agarose or magnetic beads to facilitate cleaner, faster, simpler immunoprecipitations.
Nano-Traps are available in a variety of formats, and target a variety of common tags, including Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), Red Fluorescent protein (RFP), Myc, GST, & MBP.
Nano-Traps are also available for DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt-1), p53, and PARP-1 for immunoprecipitation of untagged, endogenously expressed protein
- Faster (roughly half the time required for an antibody IP)
- Cleaner (no heavy or light chain antibody contamination)
- More consistent (recombinant reagents for the same interaction every time)
- Higher yield (picomolar to nanomolar affinity constants for GFP and RFP-traps®)
Nano-Traps available at antibodies-online:
| Antigen | (M)-Type Nano-Trap | (A)-Type Nano-Trap | (MA)-Type Nano-Trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)* | ABIN509401 | ABIN509397 | ABIN1889488 |
| Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP)** | ABIN509412 | ABIN509408 | ABIN2452223 |
| DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) | Please Inquire | ABIN1082205 | Please Inquire |
| Myc | Please Inquire | ABIN2559732 | Please Inquire |
| Glutathione S-transferase (GST) | ABIN1082190 | ABIN2656273 | Please Inquire |
| Maltose Binding Protein(MBP) | Please Inquire | ABIN2870876 | Please Inquire |
| p53 (N-terminal Epitope) | Please Inquire | ABIN1889478 | Please Inquire |
| p53 (C-terminal Epitope) | Please Inquire | ABIN2870874 | Please Inquire | Poly ADP-Ribose Polymerase (PARP1) | Please Inquire | ABIN2870878 | Please Inquire |
What is a Nano-Booster?
Nano-Boosters use the power of the nanobody to enhance, modulate, or reactivate weak fluorescent signal from a fluorescent protein.
A Nano-Booster is composed of a nanobody, targeting GFP or RFP, and conjugated to an ultra-bright ATTO dye.
Nano-Boosters can provide the "signal-boost" required to make fluorescent proteins like GFP bright and stable for super resolution microscopy.
antibodies-online offers the following Nano-Boosters:
| Conjugate Dye | GFP-Booster | RFP-Booster |
|---|---|---|
| ATTO-488 | ABIN509419 | ABIN2452220 |
| ATTO-594 | ABIN2452219 | ABIN1082216 |
| ATTO-647N | ABIN2870880 | ABIN2745402 |
| Abberior STAR 635N | ABIN2870918 | Please Inquire |
What is a Chromobody®?
Chromobodies® are novel tools for live-cell intracellular fluorescent labeling.
Chromobodies® are fusion proteins that contain both a nanobody targeting your protein of interest, and a bright, photostable fluorescent protein.
Because nanobodies are produced from recombinant DNA, you can generate Chromobodies® directly, right inside the cell you want to label. No fussing with messy, frustrating, or time consuming fixation or labeling protocols!
Simply start with the appropriate Chromobody® plasmid, transfect it into a compatible cell line, and utilize persistent, intracellular immunolabeling in live cells!
Chromobody® plasmids are available for the following targets:
| Antigen | Subcellular Localization | ABIN |
|---|---|---|
| Actin | Cytosol | ABIN1478361 |
| Lamin | Nuclear Envelope | ABIN1478367 |
| Poly ADP-Ribose Polymerase 1(PARP1) | Nucleus, Mitochondria | ABIN2745398 |
| Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) | Nucleus | ABIN1478363 |
| DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt-1) | Nucleus | ABIN1478365 |
| Vimentin | Cytosol | ABIN3071447 |
