Antibody Engineering

Key capabilities

Track Binding Changes After Conjugation:

Gator^® BLI enables real-time comparison of native vs. conjugated antibodies, revealing how payload attachment affects affinity.

Screen Bioconjugation Conditions Efficiently:

Quickly evaluate multiple DARs, pH levels, and conjugation chemistries to find optimal conditions that preserve function.

Accelerate Development with
Reliable Data:

Label-free, low-volume assays provide sensitive and reproducible kinetic data, even for heterogeneous ADC samples.

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Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a game-changing innovation for the antibody therapeutics industry, merging the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the potency of cytotoxic payloads to specifically eliminate nearby target cells. ADCs require all the typical antibody quality studies: antibody-antigen kinetics, expression, titer, and stability. However, ADCs also require a thorough understanding of the conjugation of drug to antibody, the drug-to-antibody ratios (DARs), and whether the antibody remains both stable and active after labeling. Entire teams focus on bioconjugation, binder characterization, and targeted drug delivery, and they depend on precise, reproducible interaction data to refine ADC constructs and speed up the development pipeline. 

ADC developers are often looking for a better way to measure changes in binding kinetics after payload attachment. Payload attachment is often not a simple one-and-done – there are dozens of different methods and different pH and concentration conditions that need to be screened to identify the best labeling conditions that give the best DAR while maintaining strong antibody activity. Gator’s Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI) systems offer an ideal platform for characterizing ADCs with speed and precision. Gator instruments deliver real-time kinetic analysis, enabling researchers to directly compare native and conjugated antibodies to assess how conjugation impacts binding affinity and specificity. The label-free format allows for streamlined workflows without compromising sensitivity, even among partially-conjugated or heterogeneous samples. With low sample consumption and robust assay reproducibility, Gator BLI helps scientists accelerate ADC development.

Key capabilities

Dual-Target Kinetics in One Platform:

Measure binding kinetics and specificity for each arm of a bispecific antibody independently and without complex protocols or labeling.

High-Throughput, Low-Sample Screening:

Gator BLI enables real-time analysis across large panels with minimal sample input and fast turnaround times.

Accelerate Development with Scalable Workflows:

From discovery to lead optimization, Gator Bio provides reproducible, streamlined tools for bispecific antibody development.

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Bispecific antibodies are a rapidly expanding class of therapeutics that simultaneously target two distinct antigens, enabling precise modulation of disease pathways and immunological responses. This makes them particularly valuable in fields like cancer immunotherapy, infectious disease, and autoimmune research. Researchers in biopharma and academic labs focused on binder characterization, synthetic biology, or antibody engineering are using bispecifics with increasing frequency, and numerous therapeutics featuring bispecific binders have already been commercialized. Understanding and optimizing how each arm of a bispecific antibody interacts with its targets is the key to downstream success in drug development or mechanistic studies. 

However, bispecific antibodies present significant complexity in terms of functional validation, binding specificity, and kinetic profiling. One of the biggest challenges in this space is the lack of fast, accurate, and scalable methods to independently analyze the dual-target binding activity of bispecific constructs within a single assay. Traditional approaches often require cumbersome protocols, high sample consumption, or expensive labeling strategies, which slow down development timelines and introduce experimental variability. Gator Bio’s bio-layer interferometry (BLI) instruments deliver streamlined, real-time analytics of bispecific antibodies with high sensitivity and throughput. Gator BLI systems allow researchers to confidently measure binding affinity, association/dissociation kinetics, and target specificity for each arm independently, without complex assay design. With low sample requirements and fast turnaround times, Gator Bio BLI accelerates screening and characterization of bispecifics at every stage, from early discovery to lead optimization. Designed to integrate easily into your lab’s workflow, Gator Bio makes bispecific antibody development more accessible and reproducible, empowering scientists to make confident, data-driven decisions.

Key capabilities

Real-Time Analysis of Fc Receptor and C1q Interactions:

Accurately measure FcγR, FcRn, and C1q binding kinetics, even at low affinities, without labels or complex prep.

Designed for Difficult Targets and Conditions:

Gator BLI handles pH-dependent binding and unstable complexes with high sample-rate detection and cooled sample handling.

High-Throughput Fc Variant Screening:

Evaluate large panels of engineered antibodies across conditions to optimize effector function, half-life, and immune activity.

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Fc engineering (modifying the fragment crystallizable region of immunoglobulins) is critical for modern therapeutic antibody development. With an optimized Fc region, antibody engineers can enhance bioavailability, effector function, and pharmacokinetics. Optimizing interactions with Fc receptors (FcγRs) and the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) extends half-life, improves tissue distribution, and can fine-tune immune activation. Optimizing C1q interaction enables engineered antibodies to better initiate the classical complement pathway of the immune system. This optimization is usually aimed at improving the antibody’s effector functions, particularly complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), which is important for clearing targeted cells, such as tumor cells or infected cells. These targets (and others) make Fc engineering a key step in developing modern monoclonal antibodies, biosimilars, and ADCs, and bispecifics to have improved bioavailability, reduced dosing frequency, and therapeutic efficacy. 

As anyone who studies Fc receptor binding will tell you, it can be tricky, and without a real-time way to observe the binding, troubleshooting can be a significant obstacle. Scaling up to test each candidate for pH-dependent binding or other conditions makes it even harder. Meanwhile, C1q is a large multi-peptide complex, with its own inherent stability issues. Both are known to have low affinity for their targets, making sample volume a major consideration for these assays. 

Gator Bio’s bio-layer interferometry (BLI) platforms are an indispensable tool for any Fc engineering or C1q optimization workflow. With real-time, label-free analysis, our systems deliver high-resolution kinetic and affinity data for interactions with FcγRs, FcRn, and C1q binders. Gator’s improved chemistries can help to reduce avidity effects, while our high sample-rate detectors and sample cooling features make the fast-on/fast-off kinetics far easier to characterize. Confidently assess modifications in half-life extension, receptor binding profiles, and immune modulation potential using Gator BLI’s high throughput instruments, which each feature dedicated high-sample rate spectrometers. Moreover, the plate-based format makes it ideal for evaluating large panels of Fc variants or comparing binding under different pH conditions (e.g., pH-dependent FcRn or C1q binding). Whether the goal is longer circulation or targeted immune engagement, Gator Bio’s versatile tools enable you to pioneer new and improved therapies.

Key capabilities

Real-Time Detection of Glycan Motifs:

Gator BLI enables label-free profiling of sialylation, fucosylation, and galactosylation using lectins or
anti-glycan antibodies.

Simplify and Accelerate Glycan Analysis:

Skip complex prep and analyze crude or purified samples directly, ideal for high-throughput and routine workflows.

Ensure Consistency and Optimize Function:

Confidently assess critical quality attributes (CQAs) to improve therapeutic performance and meet regulatory standards

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Glycosylation profiling is an oft-overlooked step in the development and manufacturing of antibody therapeutics and other biologics. In antibodies, glycans modulate effector functions, immune responses, and circulatory half-life, while some enzymes require it for function and stability. The most common target is sialylation, which dramatically enhances bioavailability and improves therapeutic efficacy by extending serum half-life and reducing immunogenicity. In both clinical development and biomanufacturing, detailed glycosylation profiling ensures consistency, safety, and regulatory compliance. In many cases, glycosylation characteristics are considered critical quality attributes (CQAs).

Studying the glycosylation of proteins remains a technical challenge for many labs. Traditional methods are time-consuming, often requiring extensive sample preparation, enzymatic digestion, and HPLC and/or mass spectrometry analysis which can be slow, costly, and difficult to integrate into high-throughput workflows.

Gator Bio’s bio-layer interferometry (BLI) platforms are an efficient and scalable approach to glycan profiling, with simple workflows. Using glycan-specific binding partners, such as lectins or anti-glycan antibodies, Gator BLI enables label-free, real-time detection of glycan motifs, including levels of sialylation, fucosylation, and galactosylation. The system supports high-throughput analysis directly from crude or purified samples, significantly reducing assay time and resource burden. When you’re optimizing glycosylation patterns for better therapeutic performance or confirming batch-to-batch consistency, Gator Bio provides speed, sensitivity, and reliability, making glycosylation profiling a routine part of biologics development.

Key capabilities

Validate Neutralizing Potential Early:

Gator BLI provides label-free, high-sensitivity binding data to identify antibodies with strong functional inhibition profiles.

Streamline Assays with Less Sample and Cost:

Analyze neutralizing antibodies in high-throughput formats without labeling or excessive reagent use.

Confidently Compare Variants and Escape Mutants:

Get real-time kinetics on wild-type and variant targets to support effective therapeutic development and optimization.

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Neutralizing antibodies are a critical tool in the prevention and treatment of not only viral infections, but also other biological binders like venom peptides. In order to be effective, the neutralizing antibody must have a very strong binding affinity to functionally inhibit its ability to bind its target. Accurate kinetic and specificity data are critical for selecting leads that will perform effectively in vivo. As emerging pathogens continue to challenge global health, and as therapeutics are developed for underserved populations around the world, the need for streamlined neutralizing antibody screening continues to grow.

However, many labs face barriers when characterizing neutralizing antibodies, including low-throughput assays, high reagent costs, and requiring labeling of biological samples. Moreover, traditional binding assays don’t always correlate with real-world neutralization potential.

Gator’s bio-layer interferometry (BLI) systems offer a highly-sensitive, label-free option for pioneering the next generation of neutralizing antibodies. With minimal sample requirements and streamlined workflows, Gator instruments help labs validate neutralizing potential earlier in the development pipeline. Our systems support both high-throughput screening and deep kinetics characterization, enabling you to compare binding of wild-type and variant targets with pinpoint accuracy. Whether you’re engineering monoclonals, monitoring antibody escape mutations, or developing the next life-saving antivenom therapy, Gator BLI instruments empower you with the data clarity and speed you need.