Applications of nanobodies in medical imaging diagnostics

SUN Yao; XIE Guozhu

doi:10.12122/j.issn.1674-4500.2025.02.17

Abstract：With the rapid development of molecular biology,imaging technology and information processing ability,medical imaging has become an indispensable tool in disease management.Imaging technology is not only used for early screening and positioning of diseases,but also provides molecular characteristics of diseases through molecular imaging,providing support for precision medicine and personalized treatment.Despite the significant progress in traditional imaging technologies,the contrast agents and labeled probes they depend on still exhibit inherent limitations.Nanobodies,derived from the heavy-chain antibodies of camelids,present unique advantages in medical imaging due to their small molecular size,high stability,and exceptional specificity.This review summarized the distinctive features of nanobodies and the latest research developments on their application in diagnostic imaging,focusing particularly on their use in tumor imaging,infection monitoring,and the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases.The review also discussed the challenges that nanobodies face in clinical translation,and current solution.In the future,combined with technology optimization and multimodal imaging,nano antibodies are expected to become an important tool for precision medicine and promote the further development of personalized medicine.