PRe-ART: Predictive Reagent Antibody Replacement Technology

Reagent antibodies are used extensively in research, typically to bind or capture protein targets. Unlike well-characterised therapeutic antibodies, about half of the commercially available reagent antibodies have previously been shown to not function correctly either in terms of their specificity or else in recognising their target at all. PRe-ART (Predictive Reagent Antibody Replacement Technology) aims to replace conventional reagent antibodies with sequence-defined, designed armadillo repeat proteins (dArmRPs), capable of conserved and specific binding of extended peptides. PRe-ART uses a feedback loop of experimental synthesis and evaluation with computational modelling to iteratively develop the properties of novel dArmRPs. Ultimately, PRe-ART aims to create an encyclopaedia of pre-designed and experimentally pre-selected modules that may be combined to generate unique binding molecules that function as antibody replacements. Progress to date in terms of library synthesis, screening and modelling will be presented.