Nanobody-Based Light-Controllable Systems for Investigating Biology

Nanobodies, the camelid-derived single-chain variable domain of heavy-chain-only antibodies, are compact in size and exhibit high binding affinity and specificity to their binding partners. As innovative antibody modalities, nanobodies have garnered significant attention in medicine and biological research. To achieve higher spatiotemporal precision, nanobody-based light-controlled systems—such as photobody, optobody, photoactivatable nanobody conjugate inducers of dimerization, and others—have been developed. These systems enable optical control of biological processes while leveraging the advantages of nanobodies as a binding moiety. This concept, summarizes nanobody-based photoregulated systems for investigating biology through light, highlights their advantages and potential limitations, and discusses future directions in this emerging research area.