This work describes the design and expression of a stereoselective Fab that possesses binding properties comparable to those displayed by the parent monoclonal antibody. Utilizing mRNA from hybridoma clones that secrete a stereoselective anti-L-amino acid antibody, a corresponding biotechnologically produced Fab was generated. For that, appropriate primers were designed based on extensive literature and databank searches. Using these primers in PCR resulted in successful amplification of the V-H, V-L, C-L and C(H)1 gene fragments. Overlap PCR was utilized to combine the V-H and C(H)1 sequences and the V-L and C-L sequences, respectively, to obtain the genes encoding the HC and LC fragments. These sequences were separately cloned into the pEXP5-CT/TOPO expression vector and used for transfection of BL21(DE3) cells. Separate expression of the two chains, followed by assembly in a refolding buffer, yielded an Fab that was demonstrated to bind to L-amino acids but not to recognize the corresponding D-enantiomers. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.