AUTHOR=Valenzuela-Nieto Guillermo , Miranda-Chacon Zaray , Salinas-Rebolledo Constanza , Jara Ronald , Cuevas Alexei , Berking Anne , Rojas-Fernandez Alejandro 

TITLE=Nanobodies: COVID-19 and Future Perspectives

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Drug Discovery

VOLUME=Volume 2 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/drug-discovery/articles/10.3389/fddsv.2022.927164

DOI=10.3389/fddsv.2022.927164

ISSN=2674-0338

ABSTRACT=The Covid-19 pandemic has driven biotechnological developments to provide new and more effective tools for prophylactics, diagnostics, and therapies. Historically, monoclonal antibodies have been valuable tools; however, the pandemic has shown some weaknesses, such as production limitations at a global scale. An alternative to conventional monoclonal antibodies are nanobodies, recombinant fragments of the variable region of single-domain antibodies derived mainly from the Camelidae family. Nanobodies have multiple beneficial characteristics; they are small (15KDa), have remarkable refolding capability and unlimited possibilities for modifications due to their recombinant nature. Here we review the application of nanobodies in treating SARS-CoV-2 infection and diagnostics.