Filamentous Phage Display

Bacteriophage display systems have been developed to allow the selection of a protein or peptide based on its ability to bind to a selected target molecule. The antibody-display approach uses filamentous phage that express combinations of randomly assembled pairs of heavy and light chain genes either as a single chain antibody fragment or fragment antigen binding (Fab) format. These proteins are fused to the phage minor coat protein, pIII, to allow their expression and display on the surface of the phage, where they are available to bind antigen. Phage(s) expressing a particular sFv/Fab are enriched by panning on an immobilized target. Various antibody-display phage libraries have been described and this system provides an alternative and powerful tool in generating specific antibodies.