Immobilization of Cameloid Antibodies for Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis
Antibodies are proteins that form an integral part of the immune system. With highly specific binding domains, they attach to their target and serve as indicator for further immune response. In cartilage fish and camelids like camel, dromedary, or llama a particularly small type of antibody evolved. The small size potentially allows to access binding sites in target molecules, that are not reachable for large conventional antibodies and increases their stability.
In collaboration with Fresenius Medical Care, the IMC Krems and Procomcure, the AIT studies ways to utilize these cameloid antibodies in clinical applications.
The consortium aims to generate camelid antibodies against key proteins involved in sepsis and autoimmune disease with the aim to capture and bind them to a surface and thus remove them from the patient blood. Chemical strategies are being developed, that allow to couple the antibodies with standardized means. Based on the novel architectures, a prototype platform for therapeutic apheresis and dialysis is developed.
