# A Simplified Strategy for Nanobody Production and Use Based on Functional GST-Nanobody Fusion Proteins

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a simplified method for producing and using nanobodies by fusing them with GST, enabling efficient purification and detection without requiring complex modifications.

## Contribution

A novel GST-nanobody fusion strategy is presented for cytoplasmic expression in E. coli, enabling functional nanobody production and detection.

## Key findings

- GST-nanobody fusions were produced at ~8–12 mg/L in E. coli and retained nanomolar binding affinity to their antigens.
- The GST tag enabled indirect immunofluorescence and pulldown assays without tag removal.
- The method complements existing nanobody designs and provides a low-cost alternative for functional reagent production.

## Abstract

Nanobodies (VHHs or single-domain antibodies) are powerful affinity reagents, but their routine use is often limited by production constraints and by the lack of a conserved Fc region for secondary detection. We describe a simplified strategy in which functional GST–nanobody fusion proteins are expressed directly in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli OrigamiTM 2 (DE3), a strain that supports disulfide bond formation through trxB/gor mutations. Using well-characterized nanobodies against GFP (Lag2) and mCherry (C11), we designed N-terminal GST fusions and confirmed by AlphaFold3-based modeling that both constructs preserve the GST fold and the VHH (Variable domain of the Heavy-chain antibody of Heavy-chain-only antibodies) β-sandwich with defined CDR loops and a predicted intradomain disulfide bond. Following IPTG induction and purification by glutathione affinity and size-exclusion chromatography, we obtained soluble GST-nb-GFP and GST-nb-mCherry at ~8–12 mg/L. Isothermal titration calorimetry showed nanomolar binding to their antigens (Kd ~123 nM for GFP and ~199 nM for mCherry). Consistent with conformational epitope recognition, GST-nanobodies were reactive in native-state dot blots but not in denaturing Western blots under the conditions tested. The GST moiety enabled indirect immunofluorescence via anti-GST antibodies, yielding specific labeling of GFP- or mCherry-tagged TGN38 in HeLa and H4 cells. Finally, we demonstrate “GST-nanobody pulldown” as a robust method for affinity capture from cell lysates. Together, this platform provides a low-cost, versatile route to functional nanobody reagents without requiring tag removal, and complements other nanobody designs (e.g., VHH-Fc fusions) in an application-dependent manner.