Virus-like particles: an effective, efficient and accessible platform for testing antibody binding

Validating antibody-antigen interaction can be a labor-intensive, protracted process due to limitations of common methodologies that fail to replicate a target's native environment. While an antibody may initially show promise in plate-based formats that utilize purified target-coating, testing in cell lines often fails to recapitulate these findings. However, the advent of user-friendly kits to capture and isolate receptors in their natural membrane-embedded state via the production of virus-like particles (VLPs) presents an opportunity to identify high quality antibodies more rapidly. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate that standard laboratory equipment, such as a flow cytometer or microplate reader, can detect a target membrane antigen on VLPs via an internal fluorescent tag, and by antigen-specific antibodies binding to a target on the external VLP surface. Importantly, the benefits of using VLPs for native antigen presentation combined with detection techniques commonly used across the globe offers the potential for a more accurate, accessible, and simplified approach to antibody discovery.