Single domain antibody facility

Through its participation in a program on the generation of monoclonal antibodies and antibody fragments against hundreds of proteins that are potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, NRC established a facility in 2008 for the efficient isolation of single-domain antibodies (sdAbs).

The source of the sdAbs is a newly constructed, high quality, phage display library comprised of the variable domains of the heavy chain antibody repertoires of a camel, a llama and an alpaca. These camelid species produce novel antibodies, termed heavy chain antibodies, which lack light chains, making them ideal sources of sdAbs.

Equipment

The facility, which is unique in Canada, is equipped for manual as well as semi-automated panning of the phage library with semi-automated panning against up to 24 targets being performed with a KingFisher magnetic particle processor. Optimized panning protocols have resulted in essentially a 100% success rate with pure protein targets and a success rate of over 80% with peptide targets.

Protocols and equipment are in place for screening and downstream processing of clones obtained by panning – DNA sequencing, sub-cloning, expression and purification in low milligram quantities. The elapsed time from the start of panning to attaining purified sdAb is about 6-8 weeks.

Enquiries regarding access to the facility by academic or industrial partners through collaborative research or service agreements are welcome.

Contact

Eileen Raymond
Telephone: 514-496-6349
Email: Eileen.Raymond@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca