High Throughput Monoclonal Antibody Purifi cation and Screening

Protein biologics now represent a signifi cant share of pharmaceutical research and development efforts. Their specifi city has been their key to success, as their cell-specifi c modality and relative lack of compound-specifi c toxicity have provided safer and more effective means to treat several chronic diseases. The most common class of proteins used as pharmaceuticals is monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), and sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and diabetes have been among the benefactors of the therapeutic mAbs developed to date [1]. Monoclonal antibodies have fulfi lled their promise as therapeutic agents, and offer even greater promise for the future. The development of new mAb therapeutics requires the production and purifi cation of monoclonal antibodies with very high affi nity for the intended ligands, as well as very high specifi city and low cross-reactivity.