Nanobodies for the first time were identified in the sera of Camelidae. Single-domain antibodies or nanobodies are a class of next-generation antibodies that have specific features: small size (in nanoscale), high penetration in various tissues, high stability in hard situations and ease production process in microbial systems. In fact single-domain antibodies are the smallest fragment of the antibody with binding ability. Unique characteristics and features of nanobodies make them an appropriate candidate for further evaluation as the development of novel antibody-based therapeutics. In this regard single-domain antibodies are in the interest of many researchers as well as biopharmaceutical companies for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Nowadays several single domain antibodies have been developed and evaluated in different clinical trials. Because of many advantages of single-domain antibodies over other formats of antibodies, they could be good replacement for other formats of antibodies in near future. Here, we review the biology, engineering platforms and application of nanobodies.

在骆驼科的血清中首次鉴定出纳米抗体。单域抗体或纳米抗体是一类具有特定功能的下一代抗体：小尺寸（纳米级），在各种组织中的高渗透性，在困难情况下的高稳定性以及可简化微生物系统的生产过程。实际上，单结构域抗体是具有结合能力的最小抗体片段。纳米抗体的独特特性使它们成为开发基于抗体的新型疗法的理想选择。在这方面，单域抗体对于许多研究者以及用于诊断和治疗应用的生物制药公司都是有利的。如今，已经开发了几种单域抗体，并在不同的临床试验中对其进行了评估。由于单域抗体比其他形式的抗体有许多优势，因此在不久的将来它们可以很好地替代其他形式的抗体。在这里，我们回顾了纳米抗体的生物学，工程平台和应用。