Antibody-receptor bioengineering and its implications in designing bioelectronic devices

Abstract

Antibodies play a crucial role in the defense mechanism countering pathogens or foreign antigens in eukaryotes. Its potential as an analytical and diagnostic tool has been exploited for over a century. It forms immunocomplexes with a specific antigen, which is the basis of immunoassays and aids in developing potent biosensors. Antibody-based sensors allow for the quick and accurate detection of various analytes. Though classical antibodies have prolonged been used as bioreceptors in biosensors fabrication due to their increased fragility, they have been engineered into more stable fragments with increased exposure of their antigen-binding sites in the recent era. In biosensing, the formats constructed by antibody engineering can enhance the signal since the resistance offered by a conventional antibody is much more than these fragments. Hence, signal amplification can be observed when antibody fragments are utilized as bioreceptors instead of full-length antibodies. We present the first systematic review on engineered antibodies as bioreceptors with the description of their engineering methods. The detection of various target analytes, including small molecules, macromolecules, and cells using antibody-based biosensors, has been discussed. A comparison of the classical polyclonal, monoclonal, and engineered antibodies as bioreceptors to construct highly accurate, sensitive, and specific sensors is also discussed.

Keywords: Antibodies; Antigen-antibody complex; Bioengineered antibody fragments; Bioreceptors; Biosensors; Clinical diagnostics; Healthcare; Nanobodies.