Technology

Antibodies - extremely powerful tools in biomedical research - are large complex molecules (~ 150 kDa) consiting of two heavy and two light chains. Due to their complex structure the use of antibodies is often limited.

Camelidae (camels, dromedaries, llamas and alpacas) produce functional antibodies devoid of light chains, so called heavy chain antibodies (hcAbs). hcAbs recognize and bind their antigens via a single variable domain (V_HH). These V_HH domains are the smallest intact antigen binding fragments (molecular weight: ~ 13 kDa), characterized by excellent stability, high specificity and affinities in the low nanomolar range.^_[1]

Based on these versatile and extremely robust binding proteins, ChromoTek has developed unique, high-quality tools for scientists in the field of cellular research:

• Nano-Traps
  for fast, reliable and efficient isolation of proteins for biochemical analyses (e.g. Pulldowns, Co-IPs)
• Booster
  to increase, stabilize and reactivate fluorescent protein signals (e.g. for Immunofluorescence staining)
• Chromobodies_^®
  fluorescently labeled nanoprobes for live cell application (e.g. High Content Screening)

In addition to Chromobody_^® based biosensor technology, we have developed a new F2H-Assay to directly visualize protein-protein interactions in live cells. By tethering a fluorescent bait at a defined cellular structure we generate a positional protein-protein interaction biosensor and assay for co-localization of fluorescent prey proteins in living cells. Automated image acquisition and analyses allow us to perform high throughput screens for molecules and drugs perturbing specific protein-protein interactions in the cellular environment and in real time.