Alpaca VHH Antibody Discovery Service
Alpha Lifetech Can Offer
Alpha Lifetech Inc. is recognized as a leader in single-domain antibody discovery. Alpha Lifetech Inc. has developed proprietary procedures for nanobody discovery. Our optimized library construction and screening processes with phage display technology ensure the successful isolation of high-affinity alpaca nano-bodies within a short period of time. We have succeeded in producing multiple positive clones for a variety of antigens, ranging from large protein molecules to small haptens, many binding agents have subnanomolar affinities measured by ELISA.
Introduction Of Alpaca VHH Antibody Discovery Service
In addition to conventional IgG, Alpaca produces a single-chain functional antibody which is capable of antigen binding sometimes called VHH antibodies. These antibodies consist solely of heavy chains and lack lightweight chains and functional domains CH1 and CH4. These so-called heavy-chain antibodies are used in the development of single-domain antibodies.

Alpaca VHH Antibody Discovery Service Workflow
Steps |
Specification |
Timeline |
Step1: Alpaca Immunization |
Earthy, full-aged Alpaca (28-36 months old) was immunized 4-7 times
Serum titers were measured by ELISA and collected peripheral blood
|
6-8 weeks |
Step2: cDNA synthesis (Clients can provide cells) |
Total RNA extraction RT-PCR
PCR amplification with Actin-specific primers to identify the quality of cDNA
|
1 day |
Step3: VHH antibody Library construction |
Primer design & synthesis PCR amplification of variable region genes of heavy using cDNA as a template
Plasmid construction & transformation: after enzyme digestion, VHH and phagemid vector were ligated and transformed into TG1 host bacteria by an electric shock to construct antibody libraries
Identification: 20-50 clones were randomly selected, PCR identification, sequencing and analysis of antibody sequences
|
3-4 weeks |
Step4: VHH antibody Library Screening (3 Rounds) |
The antigenic limit pressure method is used for 3 rounds of panning Identification: 96 clones were randomly selected for ELISA titer determination
Up to 96 positive clones were sequenced, and the 10-15 clones were selected for prokaryotic expression transformation
10-15 positive clones were expressed to construct VHH antibody supernatant
|
3-4 weeks |
VHH-Fc Antibody Production (optional) |
Gene synthesis, subcloning, plasmid preparation Transient expression and purification
QC analysis
|
2 weeks |
Affinity Ranking (optional) |
Affinity measured by Biacore 8K |
1 weeks |
Total |
Phage display Alpaca VHH library construction and screening |
6 months |
Alpaca VHH Antibody Discovery Service Process



