Thermostability and binding properties of single-chained Fv fragments derived from therapeutic antibodies.

Small antibody fragments have recently been used as alternatives to full-length monoclonal antibodies in therapeutic applications. One of the most popular fragment antibodies is single-chain fragment variables (scFvs), consisting of variable heavy (V) and variable light (V) domains linked by a flexible peptide linker. scFvs have small molecular sizes, which enables good tissue penetration and low immunogenicity.