Nanobodies (Nbs) have arisen as an alternative to conventional antibodies (Abs) and show great potential when used as tools in different biotechnology fields such as diagnostics and therapy. Different approaches have been described for the production of Nbs and these methods face new challenges focused on improving yield, affinity, and reducing production costs. This review summarizes these challenges, and also the latest advances in the detection of different kinds of molecules, such as proteins and small molecules, and describes their potential use for noninvasive in vivo imaging and for in vitro assays. Moreover, the unique properties of Nbs are outlined like internalization, size, thermal and chemical stability, affinity, blood clearance, and labeling procedures. Concerning therapeutic applications, we highlight some already reported examples about Nbs being used for the treatment of several diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative or infectious diseases among others. Finally, future trends, opportunities, and disadvantages are also discussed.

纳米抗体（Nbs）可以替代常规抗体（Abs），并且在不同的生物技术领域（如诊断和治疗）中用作工具时，其潜力很大。已经描述了用于生产Nb的不同方法，这些方法面临着集中于提高产量，亲和力和降低生产成本的新挑战。这篇综述总结了这些挑战，以及检测不同种类的分子（例如蛋白质和小分子）的最新进展，并描述了它们在无创体内成像和体外测定中的潜在用途。此外，概述了铌的独特性质，例如内在化，大小，热和化学稳定性，亲和力，血液清除率和标记程序。关于治疗应用，我们重点介绍一些已经报道过的有关Nbs用于治疗多种疾病（例如癌症，神经退行性疾病或传染病等）的例子。最后，还讨论了未来的趋势，机遇和劣势。