Some camels naturally produce a large number of small antibodies with simple structures, such as alpacas, which can be used to prepare smaller nano-antibodies.
Nano-antibodies are not only small in molecular weight, but also very stable, and are often used in drug research and development, clinical diagnosis and other fields. The researchers said that they hope to push this latest achievement into preclinical trials.
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Nano-antibody extracted from alpaca blood cells is also a potential and efficient diagnostic tool.
Researchers from rosalind franklin Institute and Oxford University introduced that they made new nano-antibodies by using antibodies extracted from alpaca blood cells. In vitro experiments show that these nano-antibodies can bind closely with COVID-19 spike protein to prevent it from infecting human cells. With the help of X-ray and electronic imaging technology, they also found that these nano-antibodies bind COVID-19 in a different way from other known antibodies.
James naismith, one of the authors and director of the rosalind franklin Institute, said that these nano-antibodies may be used to treat COVID-19 infection, just like the plasma of convalescent patients in COVID-19. Experiments show that the combination of nano-antibody and human antibody is better than that of single use. In addition, these nanoantibodies are potentially effective diagnostic tools.
Ganlong A new study found that alpaca antibodies can neutralize COVID-19.