Abstract
Antibodies, which play a role in defense mechanisms from pathogens in human, have come to be widely used as a pharmaceutical platform due to their unique characteristics such as specific antigen recognition and high stability in vivo. Driving this trend are antibody engineering efforts to reduce antigenicity, enhance effector functions, reduce antibody molecular weight, and add multiple recognition capabilities, which have ultimately enabled antibodies to perform a variety of functions beyond simple neutralization of target antigens. In recent years, there have been many cases in which antibodies have been utilized as drug delivery tools by taking advantage of their most prominent feature, the ability to specifically recognize antigens. Drug delivery to tumor tissue and the central nervous system, which was once a major challenge in drug discovery, is being overcome, and antibody-based DDS is beginning to attract attention.
