Application of Synthetic Antibodies to Biology: The Engineering of Antibody-Based Tools and Therapeutics

Antibodies have the unique property of recognizing and binding specific antigens, making them valuable tools for studying biological processes and developing new disease treatments. The discovery of the technology that allowed for monoclonal antibody production has revolutionized the whole biological field. It has led to the creation of several methods used daily in every modern laboratory. The growing number of antibodies used in the clinic and laboratories require reagent personalization, which usually requires a time-consuming and ineffective chemical manipulation that can influence the antibody's performance. This thesis describes engineering an easy, high-throughput platform that allows for antibody personalization in a plug-and-play fashion. It discusses in detail the protein engineering approach that led to the platform's development, followed by the development of various applications. Finally, the thesis explains the generation of ultra-high antibodies that recognize SARS-CoV-2 and their applications for virus neutralization and detection using the plug-and-play technology described above. The presented technology can potentially improve antibody-based research by the broader scientific community and can revolutionize future clinical approaches for many therapies.