New Technique for Creating Artificial Antibodies

A new technique for creating artificial antibodies can be applied to many molecules and molecular recognition tasks, including organic catalysts, medical diagnostics, and sensors for chemical warfare agents. The technique was described in the July 25, 2002, issue of Nature.

A disadvantage of conventional polymer imprinting is that each antigen or template molecule produces an artificial antibody containing all kinds of different binding sites, most of which have poor recognition abilities and are not effective. In the new technique, researchers attach dendrons to a porphyrin core to create a dendrimer. The flexible dendrimer scaffolding is then cross-linked in a chemical reaction that stitches together the end groups of the dendrons. Finally, a hydrolysis reaction chemically clips out the core, leaving a hollow space that can selectively and tightly bind appropriately shaped molecules.

"Upon removal of the template, we have a synthetic molecular shell that can bind specifically shaped molecules and reject all others, just like a natural antibody,” said Prof. Steven C. Zimmerman, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA), a co-leader of the research team.

One of the researchers likens the process to the lost-wax process used in metal casting. "In essence, we are molding this dendrimer around our template and creating a rigid cast that functions like a molecular lock for a molecular key,” noted Prof. Kenneth S. Suslick, also a co-leader of the research team.


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