Structural biology and drug discovery

Affinity Maturation of Monoclonal Antibodies: An Overview

Affinity maturation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is a crucial process in the development of therapeutic antibodies. It involves iteratively mutating the antibodies to increase their binding affinity to the target antigen, resulting in high-affinity mAbs that are more effective in treating diseases and have improved pharmacokinetic properties compared to low-affinity mAbs. Hydroxyl radical footprinting (HRF) is a new technology that has the potential to significantly improve and simplify the affinity maturation process.