Introduction to Antibody Engineering

This highly readable textbook serves as a concise and engaging primer to the emerging field of antibody engineering and its various applications. It introduces readers to the basic science and molecular structure of antibodies, and explores how to characterize and engineer them. Readers will find an overview of the latest methods in antibody identification, improvement and biochemical engineering. Furthermore, alternative antibody formats and bispecific antibodies are discussed.

The book’s content is based on lectures for the specializations “Protein Engineering” and “Medical Biotechnology” within the Master’s curriculum in “Biotechnology.” The lectures have been held at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, in cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna, since 2012 and are continuously adapted to reflect the latest developments in the field.

The book addresses Master- and PhD students in biotechnology, molecular biology and immunology, and all those who are interested in antibody engineering.

Florian Rüker studied Biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria, where he also completed his PhD and postdoctoral degree (habilitation). A postdoctoral stay took him to the Molecular Biology Research Laboratory of Daiichi Pharmaceutical (Tokyo). His research is centered on antibody engineering, in particular on the engineering of antigen binding sites in the constant domains of antibodies, which has resulted in the foundation of the biotech company F-star (www.f-star.com). Florian Rüker teaches Molecular Biology, as well as Protein Engineering with a focus on Antibody Engineering, at BOKU, where he is Head of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology.

Gordana Wozniak-Knopp studied Biology at the Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and received her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Medical Faculty of the same University. She holds a Senior Scientist position at the Universityof Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria, where she is currently exploring novel aspects of engineering antibodies and alternative scaffolds for antigen binding, and serves as Head of the Laboratory for Innovative Immunotherapeutics at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology. Her teaching assignments include Protein Engineering with an emphasis on Antibody Engineering and Molecular Evolution, as well as Immunology and Applied Virology.