Selection and screening of recombinant antibodies

Phage display technology had its beginnings in 1985 when George Smith cloned a fragment of the gene encoding the Eco RI endonuclease into the gene III insertion site of filamentous phage f1 and created a fusion protein, which was displayed on the virion surface. Following these studies, describing the display of peptides on the surface of filamentous phage, the technique was taken further by Greg Winter and John McCafferty at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, and Richard Lerner and Carlos F. Barbas at The Scripps Research institute, US, who independently used phage display to build large libraries of antibody sequences in the early 1990s. In these systems, antibody genes are linked to the amino terminus region of the phage minor coat protein pIII. When expressed, the encoded fusion product is incorporated into the mature phage particle during normal phage biogenesis. The resulting phage particle expresses antibodies on its surface and contains the antibody encoding gene. This linkage between antibody genotype and phenotype allows the enrichment of antigen-specific phage antibodies, using immobilized or labelled antigen. The classic selection process by phage display can be divided into four main steps: (1) coating of antigen; (2) incubation of phage repertoire with antigen; (3) washing to remove non-specific phages; and (4) elution and reamplification of antigen-specific phages. Usually, three to six rounds of binding, elution and amplification are sufficient to generate antibodies with high affinity and specificity. Phage display technology is currently one of the most well-established and promising platforms used to identify and selected recombinant antibodies for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.  Indeed, the 2018 Nobel prize in chemistry was awarded to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter, both of whom pioneered phage display methods for selection of peptides and antibodies.

The FASLAb has an extensive experience in antibody library constructions and phage display technology. Indeed, our lab has been developing innovative phage display selections based on functional and in vivo screenings to identify antibodies against challenging targets for treatment of unmet diseases.

We are open for collaborations with Academia and Pharm to explore our phage display and antibody platform. We also offer phage display services and many other antibody engineering services through the Vector B2B.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss a possible future collaboration or request a free quotation for your antibody project.