Abstract

Nanobodies are the smallest and functional antibody fragments ever known. Antigen-binding region of antibodies composed of two heavy chains only (heavy chain only antibodies; HcAb) is termed as “nanobody”. Thus, the smallest antibody fragment that is as functional as a whole antibody and comprises of only heavy chains has been identified. Recently, nanobodies have been used in the diagnosis and treatment of numerous diseases including especially cancer, infection, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases since they are the smallest functional antibody fragments, do not lead immunological reactions, have better imaging capacities than other antibodies. Beside residing in body fluids, nanobodies can be engineered as recombinant proteins since they can be easily produced in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Furthermore, several therapeutic molecules integrated to nanobodies have been developed and in the light of these studies, nanobodies provide new perspectives to targeted therapy approaches. In addition to that, nanobodies can be served as diagnostic molecules upon modification with imaging agents. Ongoing research about the use of nanobodies in biosensor development is another promising area that allow the development of new tools for in vivo imaging.