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).
- 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 product | 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 |
* GFP-traps will also recognize most GFP-derivatives, like eGFP and YFP
** RFP-traps will also recognize most Discosoma based RFP derivatives, like dsRed and mCherry
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 |
