ABSTRACT
Since the publication of the second edition of the Biomedical Engineering Handbook, the use of monoclonal antibodies for research, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications has continued to increase at a rapid rate. The production of chimeric, humanized, and human antibodies for therapeutic applications is now the norm, and the fruits of these approaches are reflected in the increased rate of clinical success, in comparison to murine monoclonal antibodies. The objective of this chapter is to provide the reader with a fundamental understanding of monoclonal antibodies and their engineered fragments. In doing so, we have sought to maintain the historical perspective provided in the second edition, through references to the seminal works in the field, while further supplementing the text with the more recent therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
