This week, it was my turn to give the short talk at our group meeting. I chose to present a recently published paper on thermostability prediction for nanobodies. The motivation for this work, at least in part, is the need for thermostability in the diverse applications of nanobodies. At OPIG, our research primarily revolves around the therapeutic uses of nanobodies, but their potential extends beyond this. I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of these broader applications here:
- Given their small size and relatively high stability, nanobodies can be used as crystallization chaperones, where they stabilize other proteins during the crystallization process to aid their structure determination.
- In diagnostics, nanobodies have been used as biosensors to recognize and attach to specific disease biomarkers. Their thermostability makes them an ideal candidate with which to develop diagnostic tests that, for example, can be used in warmer or low-resource locations.
- Labelling nanobodies with radioactive or fluorescent tags allows their use in medical imaging, enabling the vizualisation of disease sites in the body through techniques like PET or fluorescence imaging. Their small size allows them to penetrate tissues more effectively and clear from non-target areas quickly, providing clearer images.
- Nanobodies can be used to detect environmental pollutants by specifically binding to target contaminants, such as heavy metals or toxins. When incorporated into biosensors, they provide a measurable signal, indicating the presence and concentration of these pollutants in environmental samples, such as water or soil.
- Further nanobody applications in agriculture include engineering disease resistance in crops. Crops can be modified to produce nanobodies that bind to and neutralize plant pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, or fungi. This can protect the plants from disease without the need for chemical treatments, with the added effect of helping slow the development of pesticide resistance.
