Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses IZI-BB
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses IZI-BB

Antibody Technologies

Functional analysis of cell-free produced antibodies using ELISA
© Fraunhofer IZI-BB
Functional analysis of cell-free produced antibodies using ELISA

Specific antibodies are invaluable both in diagnostics as well as treatment. The Cell-free Protein Synthesis Unit uses eukaryotic cell extracts as a new strategy for the efficient and reliable synthesis and selection of antibodies (e.g. IgG) and antibody fragments (e.g. scFv). In contrast to conventional methods for generating antibodies, this saves a great deal of time and money. Open eukaryotic in-vitro translation systems additionally offer plenty of leeway for modifications that improve the quality and expand the properties of the proteins in question. The cell-free synthesis of antibody-toxin conjugates, for example, which cannot be synthesized in vivo, opens up potential for pharmacological applications. Proteinogenic toxins can – without requiring living cells – be produced using linear DNA templates in parallel and flexibly scalable cell-free reactions. Neither cloning nor cell cultivation is required for the direct production of proteinogenic toxins. This eliminates work in safety level 2+ laboratories and the inefficient purification of the toxins from genetically modified microorganisms. By optimizing the biological processes in defined reaction environments, the conditions for synthesis can be individually modified to meet the requirements for the respective protein. This also allows for parallel expression screening of different protein-coded sequences, as well as the testing of suitable reaction parameters for a particular protein.

Cell-free antibody synthesis

Antibodies are key reagents in diagnostics, therapy and research. Conventional methods for antibody development and production are based on the use of cell cultures, but their continuous handling is complex and can hardly be accelerated. Our institute therefore offers the synthesis of antibodies based on cell-free systems. This method not only shortens the synthesis time considerably and makes it economical, but also makes the synthesis more flexible and easier to control.

Cell-free antibody synthesis and labelling
© Fraunhofer IZI-BB
Cell-free antibody synthesis and labelling

Range of services

  • Fast and parallel cell-free synthesis of recombinant antibody formats (e.g. IgG, scFv, scFv-Fc)
  • Optimization of the synthesis process
  • Design of DNA templates
  • Functional characterization of antibodies
  • Position-specific modification of antibodies via the introduction of non-canonical amino acids using amber suppression
  • Cell-free synthesis of fluorescence-labelled antibodies
  • Development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)
  • Cell-free synthesis and characterization of toxins, targeted toxins and immunotoxins

Advantages

  • Fast syntheses in 3 h - 24 h
  • HTS-compatible and scalable
  • Reliable performance in reproducible quality
  • Easy handling of the reactions
  • Individual adaptation and optimization using a particular and open reaction design
  • Rapid antibody synthesis based on PCR fragments without the need to clone expression vectors
  • Position-specific modification of antibodies via the introduction of non-canonical amino acids using amber suppression
  • Rapid development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)