GFP- Nanobodies and RFP- Nanobodies conjugated to quantum dots

A small GFP- specific label with a very strong fluorescent signal

Chromotek’s GFP- binding protein, an anti- GFP Nanobody, is a very small and effective tool for binding and visualizing GFP-tagged proteins. In their recent publication, Modi et al. successfully functionalized quantum dots with the GFP- Nanobody (QD GFP- Nanobody). Thus, they created a small GFP- specific label with a very strong fluorescent signal.

In “Quantum dot conjugated nanobodies for multiplex imaging of protein dynamics at synapses“, Modi et al. successfully used these QD Nanobodies for single particle tracking.

They showed that

• ChromoTek’s  GFP binding protein (GFP Nanobody) can be coupled to quantum dots
• QD nanobodies can be used for single particle tracking of membrane proteins irrespective of cell type
• QD-nanobody conjugates improve accessibility to more complex diffusion environments such as synaptic sites or intact tissues where accessibility and penetration are challenging
• Multiplexing with differently colored Quantum dots and different Nanobodies (QD GFP-Nanobody and QD RFP-Nanobody) is possible.
  
  

Nanobodies, also termed VHHs, are very small (15kDa) and stable binding proteins derived from single domain antibody fragments. ChromoTek offers  GFP- Nanobodies  and  RFP- Nanobodies.

Quantum dots  are very bright fluorescent nanocrystals with high photostability.

Reference:
Modi S, Higgs NF, Sheehan D ,Griffin LD ,Kittler JT
Quantum dot conjugated nanobodies for multiplex imaging of protein dynamics at synapses.
Nanoscale. 2018 May 31;10(21):10241-10249. doi: 10.1039/c7nr09130c.