Antibodies structural properties

The first examples of the so-called supramolecular catalysis are based on bioinspired molecular recognition, which is an essential attribute of biochemical systems. Structures such as receptors, antibodies, and enzymes can all recognize a feature that is important for their specific functions, often in the presence of species of quite similar structure. The ability to discriminate depends exclusively on the structural properties of these biological macromolecules. Recent progress in bioor-ganic chemistry has shown that many of these functions can be incorporated into smaller, synthetically more accessible structures as model systems [27]. 

The production of antibodies for small molecules is difficult to achieve as they must be coupled to a carrier protein before inoculation. Moreover, such conjugation may change the structural properties of the antigen exposed to the immune system and the obtained antibodies will be directed against a structure slightly different from the target compound. 

While lipoproteins are the products of many different genes, the major apolipoproteins share properties distinguishing them from most lipid-free and membrane-associated proteins. For example, apolipoproteins consist of a single polypeptide chain that has relatively little tertiary structure. Most apolipoproteins contain stretches of amphipathic alpha-helix, whose hydrophobic face can be turned to the lipid surface of the particle. The apolipoproteins are flexible, as is reflected in their unusually small free energy of unfolding. As these apolipoproteins expand and contract at the cell surface, different protein domains are exposed that are detectable with monoclonal antibodies. These properties reflect the role of apolipoproteins at the surface of lipoprotein particles whose size changes as they circulate. 

Hawe, A., Kasper, J.C., Friess, W., Jiskoot, W. (2009) Structural properties of monocloneil antibody aggregates induced by freeze-thawing and thermal stress. Eur 7 Pharm Sci, 38 (2), 79-87. 

Antibodies have been raised in rabbits against di-JV-acetylchitobiose and purified in order to obtain cell-surface probes that are monovalent. " The biological and structural properties of these specific antibodies allow new approaches to the study of cell-surface carbohydrates. 

The immobilization of the hyperbranched spherical structures onto physical transducers greatly increases the binding capacity of the surface and leads to enhanced sensitivity and extended linearity of biosensors. Nucleic acid dendrimers were prepared and their amplification properties for the detection of DNA were examined using mass-sensitive transducers [45, 46]. Antibodies... 

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