Antibodies molecular recognition

B. Sellergren, Noncovalent molecular imprinting antibody-like molecular recognition in polymeric network materials . Trends. Anal. Chem. 16 310-320 (1997). 

We have already mentioned the application of supercomputers to biochemical simulations. Internal dynamics may play an Important role In such simulations. An example would be enzyme binding-site fluctuations that modulate reactivity or the dynamics of antigen-antibody association (11). In the specific case of diffusion-controlled processes, molecular recognition may occur because of long-range sterlc effects which are hard to assess without very expensive simulations (12.)-... 

Biosensors normally offer highly specific molecular recognition reactions like enzyme/substrate-, antigen/antibody-, DNA/DNA-, or protein-interactions [67]. Due to their specific sensing principles and set-up they are limited to special applications and boundary conditions. The limited stability and reproducibility of these devices requires higher standards of maintenance and recalibration. 

It is well known that a very important feature of many biological systems is specific recognition at the molecular level. Antibodies as a group are widely used for molecular recognition, e.g., affinity assays. This feature can be used by labeling an anti-human growth hormone antibody fraction with a fluorescent tag... 

The question P.G. Schultz, from Berkeley, and R.A.Lemer, from Scripps, set forth was "How to associate the prodigious capacity of molecular recognition of antibodies with potential enzymatic (catalytic) activity " [22a] [26]. In 1986, they succeeded developing the first antibodies with catalytic activity [27]. Lemer called them abzymes. In fact, their strategy is quite simple based on Pauling s hypothesis, Lerner s and Schultz s groups looked for antibodies that could stabilise the transition state of a given reaction, such as ester and carbonate hydrolysis. 

Taken together, these results suggest that molecular recognition of the dodecapeptide by antibodies differs from its recognition by concanavahn A, and that the immunological cross-reactivity observed in some studies does not reflect structural mimicry. That molecular recognition by concanavalin A of carbohydrates and peptides differs has also been shown in structural studies. Here, the functional molecular mimicry observed with respect to different receptors should not be assumed to imply structural mimicry—the inter-molecular interactions may differ in each case. 

B. Johnsson, S. Lofas, G. Lindqurrst, A. Edstrom, R. M. Muller Hillgren, and A. Hansson, "Comparison of Methods for Immobilization to Carboxymethyl Dextran Sensor Surfaces by Analysis of the Specific Activity of Monoclonal Antibodies," Journal of Molecular Recognition JMR, 125-131 (1995). 

Molecular recognition is critical for fife enzymes recognize substrates, antibodies recognize antigens, receptors recognize signaling molecules, and so on. 

In fields such as biosensing, analyte binding often relies on very specific molecular recognition interactions that nature has supplied, such as antibody-antigen interactions or strands of complimentary DNA forming double hefices. Unfortunately, because versatile and highly selective receptors for TNT or other explosive molecules are not available, chemists are left to rely on less specific interactions. 

However, recombinant antibodies may be less stable and have lower binding affinities than monoclonal antibodies (Valle and Jendoubi, 2003). Therefore, in order to fully implement the microarray format, a host of diverse capture agents could be required in addition to antibodies. These include peptides, small molecules, aptamers, ribozymes, or other molecular recognition probes yet to be discovered. However, it is also xmderstandable because of the diverse nature of proteins that additional technologies besides microarrays will be used in proteomics research (Hanash, 2003). 

Molecular recognition in biological systems (active sites on the surfaces of macromolecule, antibody-antigen) and biological sensors (enzyme activity, biosensors). 

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