Single-Molecule Characterization of Subtype-Specific β1 Integrin Mechanics
To develop robust mAb biologics, it is vital to fully characterize the protein, including its primary sequence, mutations, and important post-translational modifications
To develop robust mAb biologics, it is vital to fully characterize the protein, including its primary sequence, mutations, and important post-translational modifications
With 22 functional T cell receptor (TCR)Vβ subunit families making up the normal T cell repertoire, signals from these cell surface receptors often determine the fate of normal cells. However, mutations in TCR signaling proteins are frequently associated with peripheral T cell lymphomas (TCLs), including adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), which indicates a driving role for TCRs in TCL oncogenesis. As TCL and ATL are clonal in nature, tumour cells typically express a single TCRVβ subunit with no bias in the usage of TCRVβ subunit families. Consequently, targeting the specific TCRVβ subunit presents a promising therapeutic approach that is highly selective and tumour-specific.
Written by: Vanessa Yoon Calvelo, PhD Published: June 6, 2023 Contents The Drug Development Pathway: Overview and Challenges Early Discovery and Development of Therapeutic Antibodies Target Identification and Validation Antibody Discovery and Expression Lead Characterization and Selection Lead Engineering and Optimization Candidate Selection The Drug Development Pathway: Overview [...]
De novo protein sequencing can support the development of antibody-based reagents, including Dbs and other antibody fragments. Working with the exact amino acid sequence of the mAb can help facilitate the in silico design and conjugation design processes, ensuring accuracy in the final engineered format.
Written by: Vanessa Yoon Calvelo, PhD Published: April 24, 2023 Contents Introduction Functions of Therapeutic Antibodies Functional Assays for Therapeutic Antibodies Functional Characterization in the Therapeutic Antibody Discovery Process Introduction Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and related biological products often present as ideal therapeutics largely due to: Their [...]
Written by: Vanessa Yoon Calvelo, PhD Published: April 14, 2023 Contents Introduction Immunochemical Properties of Therapeutic Antibodies Rapid Immunochemical Characterization of Antibodies Introduction Therapeutic antibodies, predominantly monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), are a rapidly expanding class of drugs with over 100 mAb-based biologics now approved for the treatment [...]
By conducting an in-depth analysis of non-antigen immunized sheep Ig repertoires via NGS, this data provides further insight into the adaptive immunity of sheep and lays a foundation for future work on immunogenetics and ovine antibody drug development.
Antibodies with established, specific targets can be sequenced and utilized to engineer the hinge region and antigen-binding domains with antibody fragments and derivatives. With the sequence information in hand, further steps to optimizing a viable therapeutic approach can be more accessible.
The great debate on the use of in vivo versus in vitro sources and strategies for antibody discovery and generation continues to thrive among antibody research groups. On one side of the debate is the argument for non-animal-derived antibodies due to the technical advancements of current in vitro technologies, and the moral obligation to reduce animal usage. On the other side of the debate is the counterargument for animal-derived antibodies due to their better performance in affinity, specificity, and reduced immunogenicity risk.
To date, near-complete cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) density maps of pTSC were obtained by either employing chemical cross-linking or graphene oxide-coated grids during sample preparation; however, this may not reflect the true native state of pTSC.
De novo protein sequencing provided the research team with insurance by securing the complete amino acid sequence of a therapeutic mAb candidate for ADAD. This mass spectrometry-based protein sequencing technique can be used to obtain the sequence information of any antibody or protein for biomarker discovery, characterization, and validation. Access to this structural information only broadens our understanding of disease pathogenesis and fosters the development of innovative therapeutic or preventative treatments.
Biological processes are driven by molecules that interact through specific molecular contacts, often to form a stable complex. These interactions are typically defined by the principles of thermodynamics as well as biomolecular structure and recognition. At the simplest level is the interaction between a target molecule with a specific binding site and a probing molecule that binds to that site, resulting in the bound complex.
Written by: Vanessa Yoon Calvelo, PhD Updated: January 19, 2023 (Published: August 11, 2022) Contents What is Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy? What is SPR Used For? How Does SPR Work? SPR Experimental Workflow SPR Sensorgram SPR Advantages SPR Applications SPR Antibody-Antigen Interaction Analysis at Rapid Novor What is [...]
Written by: Vanessa Yoon Calvelo, PhD Published: August 3, 2022 Contents What are Biosimilar Drugs? Why are Biosimilars Being Developed? Biosimilars are not the Equivalent of Generics Biosimilar Development Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies De Novo Protein Sequencing Solutions in Biosimilar Development What are Biosimilar Drugs? Biosimilar drugs, [...]
Characterization of proteins and protein complexes is a major keystone of structural biology. As our understanding of cellular processes continues to evolve from simple pathways to complicated networks, our need for advanced analytical methods is quite apparent. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based structural approaches can be used to study protein conformational changes and dynamics, protein motion/flexibility, ligand-protein binding, and protein-protein interfaces.
Written by: Vanessa Yoon Calvelo, PhD Published: July 11, 2022 Contents What is Gene Therapy? What are Adeno-Associated Viruses? Engineering of AAVs for Gene Therapy Engineering AAVs for Improved Transduction Engineering AAVs for Improved Immunogenicity De Novo Protein Sequencing Applications in AAV Characterization and Development What is Gene [...]
Written by: Vanessa Yoon Calvelo, PhD Published: June 13, 2022 Contents What is CAR-T Cell Therapy? CAR Structure and Function CAR-T Cell Development Engineering Strategies for CAR-T Cells De Novo Protein Sequencing Applications in CAR-T Cell Development What is CAR-T Cell Therapy? The infusion of T cells [...]
αβTCR-engineered T cells have been applied in clinical trials, specifically directed against cancer/testis antigens. Though the clinical outcomes are promising, only a small proportion of patients benefit from these novel treatments. Lower response rates are partially attributed to a heterogeneous mixture of non-engineered and poorly engineered T cells that remain in the administered therapeutic product. For successful translation of these novel treatments into the clinic, engineering efforts should be reinforced with effective methods for engineered T cell purification and engineered T cell elimination post infusion into patients.
Written by: Vanessa Yoon Calvelo, PhD Updated: January 19, 2023 (Published: June 2, 2022) Contents What are post-translational modifications (PTMs)? Impact of PTMs Types of PTMs PTMs increase microheterogeneity of antibodies Characterization of PTMs by next generation protein sequencing The Importance of Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs) Post-translational [...]
Written by: Yuning Wang, PhD Updated: January 26, 2023 (Published: June 3, 2022) Contents Introduction The Four Levels of Protein Structure How are Protein Structures Studied? Introduction Structural information provides a great deal of understanding of how a protein works, which can allow us to [...]
The most straightforward solution would be to determine sequences of the dominating antibody forms in a polyclonal mixture to enable recombinant antibody generation and ensure reproducibility. This was recently made possible by the development of polyclonal antibody sequencing technology, which will be reviewed in this article.
The origin of hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) dates back to the 1950s, when protein scientist Linderstrøm-Lang created a method involving protein deuteration to distinguish amide hydrogens participating in secondary structures. Today, scientists frequently rely on HDX data to investigate protein structure, conformational dynamics, and protein-ligand interaction.
Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are types of Henipaviruses (HNVs) that originated in bats and can infect the human respiratory system with detrimental consequences. As enveloped, single-stranded RNA viruses, HeV and NiV use attachment (G) and fusion (F) glycoproteins on the envelope membrane to enter host cells. So far, there are no approved therapeutics or vaccines to combat the viruses in humans.
Monoclonal antibodies are essential reagents and research tools. They are commonly generated and produced in hybridoma cells and are expected to be highly consistent. However, the instability and fragility of hybridoma cells can cause unwanted mutations, additional chains, and permanent loss of important antibodies. On the other hand, the lack of standardization validation for commercial antibodies often keeps researchers in the dark leading to the reproducibility crisis.
The acronym “CDR” stands for complementarity determining region, a variable sequence of amino acids that folds into loops capable of binding to an antigenic amino acid sequence, also known as an epitope
The ongoing pandemic has reinforced the need for in vitro diagnostics to globally surveille emerging pathogens and provide better medical care. In particular, immunoassays are favoured due to their affordability, ease, and speed. Nevertheless, the combination of rapidly evolving pathogens, and more complex diseases resulting from increasing life expectancy worldwide require more sensitive and specific immunoassays in the nick of time. To increase sensitivity, immunoassay development can benefit from exploiting industry-leading technologies such as de novo protein sequencing.
Circulating in blood is a multitude of biologically important antibodies. These pools of polyclonal antibodies (pAb) are invaluable sources for drug discovery against various diseases, and for the development of robust immunoreagents for diagnostics, and research.
Written by: Yuning Wang, PhD Updated: January 18, 2023 (Published: January 21, 2022) Contents Discovery of Camelid Antibodies What are Camelid Antibodies? Structure of Camelid Antibodies and Nanobodies Advantages of Camelid Antibodies and Nanobodies Camelid Antibodies and Nanobodies for Therapeutic and Research Applications How are Camelid Antibodies [...]
Recombinant antibodies are artificially synthesized antibodies. Recombinant antibodies are generated from expression systems (e.g., E.coli, yeast, mammalian cell lines) via transfection with two separate plasmids encoding the amino acid sequences for the light and heavy chains, respectively. In order to recombinantly produce mAbs, the amino acid sequence of the light and heavy chains must be known. There are many ways to obtain the sequence of an antibody.
Since 2006, the One Health Initiative (OHI)’s goal has been to demonstrate the inextricable link between humans, animals, and the environment. Certainly, the current global pandemic is a great testament to the ties between climate change, humans, and animals that OHI has been working to highlight. The rise of other zoonotic diseases (e.g., Hendra, and Nipah viruses) not only directly affect humans through disease transmission but may also result in deep impacts to the food supply
Written by Yuning Wang, PhD and María Gerpe, PhD November 12, 2021 Contents IgBLAST Definition Why was IgBLAST Created? The Functions of IgBLAST How to Use IgBLAST Limitations of IgBLAST Additional Resources IgBLAST Definition Developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), IgBlast is [...]
To develop robust mAb biologics, it is vital to fully characterize the protein, including its primary sequence, mutations, and important post-translational modifications
In this study, we conducted a large-scale statistical analysis of protein sequencing data from samples digested with multiple proteases to understand the impact of using different combinations of proteases to improve the depth of sequence coverage in the application of de novo protein sequencing.
Peptide mapping is a widely used analytical technique to verify the primary structure (amino acid sequence) and characterize the chemical modifications of a protein. It analyzes peptides generated from the digestion of an isolated protein, or a protein mixture
Anti-drug antibody (ADA) assays are critical to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of a biological drug and rely on control reagents that mimic the ADA response to the biological drug being tested. These positive controls typically consist of animal-derived pooled polyclonal antibodies or human monoclonal antibody reference panels against the target protein drug.
The protein sequence is key to understanding the function of a protein target and is critical to therapeutic and diagnostic development. This is particularly important for antibodies whose code diversity and glycosylation impact both function, and stability.
Antibody sequences are critical for antibody engineering and protein characterization in therapeutic development. For antibody reagent users, knowing the sequences allows them to perform sequence analysis/alignment to identify binding and cross-reactivity so they can conduct rational experiment design.
Because they share the same mass, isoleucine and leucine are known as isobaric amino acids. Conventional mass spectrometry-based proteomics cannot be easily used to distinguish between isoleucine and leucine.
Amino acid sequencing is the process of identifying the arrangement of amino acids in proteins and peptides. Numerous distinct amino acids have been discovered in nature but all proteins in the human body are comprised of just twenty different types.
Bispecific therapeutics are monoclonal antibodies that carry a specific antigen-binding capability on each arm. Bispecifics are thus capable of having two specificities that can either double the binding affinity of the antibody toward the same antigen (increased avidity), or can now bind to two targets. Bispecifics are most often described as two types: trispecifics and bispecific T-cell engaged antibodies (BiTE).
Written by: María Gerpe, PhD Updated: January 27, 2023 (Published: June 25, 2021) Contents Introduction Types of Antibody Structures Functions of Antibodies Introduction Antibodies or immunoglobulins (Ig) are Y-shaped glycoproteins produced by the adaptive immune system in response to antigens - substances or molecules the immune [...]
Antibodies are integral to life sciences research and therapeutic and diagnostics discovery and development. However, they are inherently prone to variability.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are widely used in research, diagnosis, and pharmaceutical purposes. Lately, the relatively lower quality of research-purpose mAbs is a point of concern within the research community.
Written by María Gerpe, PhD June 18, 2021 Introduction Research publications represent an additional source of validation proof for commercially available antibodies. As such, academic and industry scientists often also rely on publication references to decide which commercial antibody to purchase. Several independent efforts exist to compile such information. For instance, [...]
The DNA sequences of antibodies are highly diverse due to the V-(D)-J recombination and hypersomatic mutations. As such, relying on homology-based searches to sequence novel antibodies can introduce bias to sequences obtained from proteomics approaches.
Mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are highly attractive for manipulation for therapeutic applications as their manufacturing is relatively easy and well-established compared to mAbs derived from larger animal models. However, they also pose several challenges which limit their use as therapeutic agents.
In-vitro diagnostics (IVDs) are one of the most commonly used tools to diagnose conditions and guide treatment decisions and are often considered the “silent champion” of healthcare. They work by detecting the absence or presence of particular markers or by measuring the concentration of analytes or specific substances.
Nowadays, DNA sequencing is so popular that it is easy to forget that the first sequenced biological material was protein – insulin, by Sanger. Sanger, and another researcher, Edman, separately pioneered protein sequencing.
Team Rapid Novor will be attending PEGS Europe, 12 -16 November 2018, Lisbon Congress Center, Lisbon, Portugal. Booth #208 Our co-founder and CEO, Mingjie, will speak at the conference. He will talk about the goal, the challenges and our REmAb™ approach towards antibody protein sequencing. We have recently accelerated our sequencing project delivery timeline and reduced the amount of mAb protein samples [...]
Team Rapid Novor will be touring Europe in the next several weeks. The first conference is the European Antibody Congress, 29 – 31 October 2018, Congress Centre, Basel, Switzerland. Booth #18. At the conference, our co-founder and CEO, Mingjie, will talk about the goal, the challenges and our REmAb™ approach towards antibody protein sequencing. He will share in greater details the experiences and [...]
Rapid Novor is bringing WILD™ to the wild WILD West June 3rd to 8th for ASMS in San Diego, California. We will setup our base at booth # 1018 and share with you our latest development on the accurate determination of Isoleucine and Leucine using mass spectrometry experiments while sequencing antibody proteins. We will also [...]
We are busy packing our baggages for the upcoming PEGS Boston conference April 30 - May 4, at Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA. PEGS: The Essential Protein Engineering Summit is one of the most prestige and preeminent events we go to every year. In this year's meeting, our co-founder and CEO, Mingjie, will give a [...]
Rapid Novor is exhibiting at the Molecular Med Tri-CON this week at The Moscone South Convention Center, San Francisco, California. Please visit our booth #533 and learn how our REmAb™ antibody protein sequencing solution may help in your research.
Rapid Novor will be attending Peptalk 2018 conference January 8 - 12, at Hilton San Diego Bayfront, San Diego, California. Our co-founder and CEO, Mingjie, will give a talk at 11:30am on Thursday. Mingjie will talk about the goal, the challenges and our approach in developing REmAb™, the world's most advanced antibody protein sequencing platform. He [...]
The Novor team will be flying into Boston again next week attending the Discovery on Target conference. On Wednesday morning, Mingjie, our co-founder and CEO, will give a talk on the topic of Sequencing Antibody Proteins with Mass Spectrometry. Mingjie will share the best practices we developed during our journey sequencing hundreds of antibody proteins [...]
At Rapid Novor, we constantly look for ways to deliver our REmAb™ service better, quicker and more consistent. We believe automation, both in the lab and in the data analysis platform, is crucial to meet our clients' ever evolving requirements on service throughput and quality. Today, we have our first pipetting robot from Opentrons installed [...]
As you may have already known, Rapid Novor is a world leader in the antibody/protein sequencing business. But, what you should also know is that we pride ourselves on the unique R&D capability of advancing new technologies and scientific breakthroughs in the field of protein sequencing with mass spectrometry. We believe that the game-changing technologies [...]
The Novor Team is heading to San Diego to attend the largest, most influential biotech Convention, BIO 2017, June 19-22, 2017. We are excited to show case our ground breaking antibody protein sequencing technology at booth #5227, in the Discovery Zone, in Hall G. Different from the traditional DNA sequencing technology, we directly sequence the antibody protein [...]
It is the time of the year scientists around the world working with mass spectrometry get together exchanging ideas and celebrating achievements. Scientists from the Novor team will RACE to Indy this weekend to join the celebration. And here is the plan. :) Looks like there are quite a bit of obstacles we need to [...]
The Novor team will once again attending the prestige PEGS Boston conference hosted at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, May 1 to 5, 2017. With the successful completion of over 100 sequencing projects in the past 12 months, we are proud to share the experiences and best practices we have developed during our [...]
The AACR Annual Meeting highlights the best cancer science and medicine from institutions all over the world. The Novor team is thrilled to be part of this event from April 1-5, 2017 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. Antibodies are widely used in cancer research and treatment. Rapid Novor provides the technologies [...]
The Novor team is going back to China attending two prestige conferences, PEGS China in Shanghai (March 28 - 30) and International Congress of Antibodies (ICA2017) in Beijing (March 29 - 31). Our co-founder and CEO, Mingjie, will give a talk at ICA2017 on March 30. He will briefly talk about the antibody protein sequencing and then [...]
One of the most important pieces of information researchers need to know during early stage antibody drug research and development is the sequence information of the antibody protein. With the advancement of mass spectrometry instrumentation and technologies, it is helpful, and sometimes critical, to conduct sequence analysis using mass spectrometry experiments.
We planned long and hard for a great start of 2017. From January 9 to 13, the Novor team will be at the PepTalk conference hosted at Hilton San Diego Bayfront, San Diego, California. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share our experiences and best practices we developed during our journey in session T5A: Characterization [...]
The Novor team is on their way to this year's PEGS Europe conference, from October 31 to November 4, at EPIC SANA Lisbon Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal. We are honored to have the opportunity to present our works in the Engineering Antibodies session at 12:45pm, Wednesday, November 2. Our co-founder, Mingjie, will deliver the presentation, Antibody [...]
Rapid Novor Inc is proud to be an invited participant of the GBSI's Antibody Validation Workshop, taking place at the Asilomar Conference Grounds from September 25 to September 27, 2016. We are thrilled to be part of this prestigious group of thought leaders and industry experts for a better future of antibodies. The workshop will [...]
This year's International Mass Spectrometry Conference is in our home base, the beautiful and dynamic city of Toronto. The Novor team is prepared to present its unparalleled de novo sequencing capability and share some of the stories and lessons learned on antibody protein sequencing. We invite you for a discussion at our booth #1416. You [...]
Recombinant Monoclonal Antibodies (rAbs) are highly reproducible, customizable and pure alternatives to the traditional antibodies produced by hybridomas. Get the antibody protein sequence, either by DNA sequencing or the de novo protein sequencing technology, you can rest assured that you can have the exact antibody made recombinantly anytime in the future.
It is the time of the year again that scientists around the world get together and discuss interesting and cutting edge scientific ideas, processes and applications. Rapid Novor is no exceptions and we are heading to San Antonio in only a few weeks time. We invite you to the Novor booth #206 for a brief chat [...]
On May 19 and 20, the Novor team will be attending Americas Antibody Congress at Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa, San Diego, CA. The conference is co-hosted with World Biosimilar Congress and Cell Culture World Congress. We invite you for a brief chat with our founders and see in action why REAL de novo antibody protein sequencing is critical [...]
We will showcase our antibody protein characterization solution at PEGS Boston 2016, April 25 - 29, at Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA. Here are the things we can help you with: Restores your hybridoma cell line Confirms your antibody product Accelerates biosimilar development We invite you for a brief chat at our booth [...]
The Novor team will be attending the US HUPO conference from March 13 - 16 in Boston. Please come visit us at booth #2 to learn details about our Antibody Protein Sequencing technology. If you would like to arrange a private meeting, please email us at support@rapidnovor.com. See you in a week!
The topic of this year's ASMS Sanibel Conference is Characterization of Protein Therapeutics by Mass Spectrometry. It is a great fit for us to talk about our Antibody Protein Sequencing Service. Built on the superior Novor de novo sequencing engine, we are developing an automated protein sequencing platform to help speed up antibody drug development. The [...]
Come meet the Novor team at booth #108 during HUPO 2015, September 27 – 30, 2015, Vancouver Convention Center, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. What's New? At this year's HUPO, we will be announcing the following new advancements in the Novor software. Novor Cloud now works with Dropbox Novor now supports high resolution MS/MS data Novor now works [...]
Monday Poster 439, ASMS 2015 While Novor is a novel tool, we are no strangers to the community. Please visit poster 439 on Monday and chat with our founders. We are thrilled to share with you the ground breaking new approach as well as our excitement. Novor: Real-Time Peptide de Novo Sequencing Novor @ ASMS [...]