Technology and Production of Murine Monoclonal and Recombinant Antibodies and Antibody Fragments
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MAbs (mAbs) are unique and versatile molecules that have found applications in research, in vitro and in vivo diagnostics, and the treatment of several diseases. Antibody technology has been revolutionized by the hybridoma technology for rnAb production described by K�hler and Milstein in 1975 (1 ). In the last 30 yr a number of genetically engineered antibody constructions have emerged, including chimeric and human-like antibodies as well as different antibody fragments. Nowadays, 18 rnAb products are currently on the market and more than 100 are in use in clinical trials (2 ). The total market for biopharmaceuticals like therapeutic mAbs is a multibillion dollar opportunity, with cancer and arthritis as the major therapeutic applications, with estimated total markets of $15 and $25 billion in 2010, respectively (3 ).
In this chapter we give an overview of the state of the art of antibody engineering and production methods and describe standard protocols for producing a hybridoma cell line, the building up of transfectomas, and a suitable bacterial expression system for the production of antibodies and antibody fragments established in our laboratory.
