NCI Center for Structural Biology: Protein Technology Core

The primary objective of the Protein Technology Core (PTC) is to establish an experimental screening pipeline for single-domain antibodies termed nanobodies. Nanobodies are antibody fragments consisting of a single monomeric variable antibody domain.

The PTC, which has recently undergone renovation, is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to enable efficient screening of synthetic libraries utilizing ribosome display technologies and those derived from the immunization of alpacas. Enrichment of selection can be easily monitored by qPCR using QuantStudio5 for synthetic and immunogenic nanobody libraries. ELISA screening is facilitated using an automated plate washer and a SynergyH1 plate reader to identify high-affinity initial binders for further characterization. Liquid handling and automated chromatography platforms such as AKTA Pure L and AKTA Pure Micro allow for the purification and characterization of nanobody targets.

Currently, the PTC is developing two platforms: one is based on synthetic libraries derived from ribosome and phage display screening of codon-biased libraries, while the second will use the conventional approach of isolating nanobodies raised by immunization of camelids such as llamas and alpaca.

In addition to developing new methodologies, the Core includes a tissue culture facility with the equipment and expertise to support researchers in producing challenging proteins and multiprotein complexes in insect and mammalian cell lines.