Phage Display Libraries as a Source of Tumour-Targeting Agents

Abstract

One way to improve the therapeutic index of anti-cancer agents would be to target them to the tumour site, thereby sparing normal tissues. Tumour targeting approaches heavily rely on the availability of specific binding molecules, recognising markers which are selectively expressed in the tumour environment. The display of antibody repertoires on the surface of filamentous phage, together with efficient selection-amplification schemes, allows the isolation of good-quality human antibodies against virtually any molecular target. This article illustrates how antibody phage technology has been used in our laboratory for the isolation of tumour targeting agents. Furthermore, we present recent developments in the display of repertoires of small globular proteins on filamentous phage, aimed at the isolation of specific binding molecules with molecular weight < 10000 Dalton.