Plastic antibodies

Keywords Artificial receptors Molecularly imprinted polymers Plastic antibodies Protein imprinting Water compatible MIP Controlled/living radical polymerization... 

Clearly, MIPs are becoming increasingly useful as promising candidates both for inspiration and fabrication of plastic antibodies and enzymes. This outcome ultimately strengthens the importance of MIPs for various envisioned chemosensor and biosensor applications. 

Several authors have compared imprinted polymers to biological receptors and even the term plastic antibodies has been coined to describe these remarkable materials. To a large extent, this comparison rests on a spectacular work of Mosbach and co-workers [24], who showed that theophylline- and diazepam-imprinted polymers displayed a specificity rather similar to that of polyclonal antibodies in binding studies with the template and its close structural analogues. However, it is the recognition of nucleotide or oligopeptide sequences which is... 

Haupt, K. Mosbach, K. Plastic antibodies Developments, and applications. Trends Biotechnol. 1998, 16 (11), 468 -475. 

Y. Hoshino, H. Koide, T. Urakami, H. Kanazawa, T. Kodama, N. Oku, et at. Recognition, neutralization, and clearance of target peptides in the bloodstream of living mice by molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles a plastic antibody, /. Am. Chem. Soc., 2010, 132(19), 6644-6645. 

A. Poma, A. Guerreiro, M.J. Whitcombe, E.V. Piletska, A.P.F. Turner, and S.A. Piletsky, Solid-phase synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles with a reusable tem-plate- Plastic antibodies, Adv. Funct. Mater., 23,2821-2827,2013. 

Haupt K, Mosbach K. Plastic antibodies Developments and applications. Tibtech 1998 16 468-475. 

The sensitivity of enzyme assays can also be exploited to detect proteins that lack catalytic activity. Enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELlSAs) use antibodies covalently finked to a reporter enzyme such as alkafine phosphatase or horseradish peroxidase, enzymes whose products are readily detected. When serum or other samples to be tested are placed in a plastic microtiter plate, the proteins adhere to the plastic surface and are immobilized. Any remaining absorbing areas of the well are then blocked by adding a nonantigenic protein such as bovine serum albumin. A solution of antibody covalently linked to a reporter enzyme is then added. The antibodies adhere to the immobilized antigen and these are themselves immobilized. Excess free antibody molecules are then removed by washing. The presence and quantity of bound antibody are then determined by adding the substrate for the reporter enzyme. 

Fig. 7. Schematic diagram of digoxin antibody sensing electrode (a) PVC membrane containing digoxin-carrier conjugate (b) inner filling solution, 0.01 M KCI (c) plasticizer, dibutyl sebacate (d) digoxin antibodies. (From 152, with permission)...

Even in the case of spinal cord injury where application of anti-Nogo antibodies results in regeneration of the cut axons, an additional important element for functional recovery is enhanced fiber growth from the unlesioned fibers, i.e. compensatory plasticity, as discussed above. After high corticospinal tract injury in the rat at the level of the medullary pyramid and treatment with anti-Nogo antibodies, rubrospinal pathways were shown to sprout into deafferented areas of the spinal cord, resulting in high levels of functional recovery, i.e. a functional switch in the remodeled pathway [42]. 

Papadopoulos, C. M., Tsai, S-Y., Alsbiei, T., O Brien, T. E., Schwab, M. E. and Kartje, G. L. Functional recovery and neuroanatomical plasticity following middle cerebral artery occlusion and IN-1 antibody treatment in the adult rat. Ann. Neurol. 51 433-441, 2002. 

Wiessner, C., Bareyre, F. M., Allegrini, P. R. etal. Anti-Nogo-A antibody infusion 24 hours after experimental stroke improved behavioral outcome and corticospinal plasticity in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab. 23 154-165, 2003. 

Fig. 2. Diagram of humidity chamber made from a plastic box. Water at the bottom of the chamber ensures a high humidity once the lid covers the chamber, this prevents significant evaporation of the slides placed on shelves. The sections are encircled by the lipid content from a DAKO pen, limiting the amount of antibody used. The chamber is wrapped in tinfoil from the start when used for alkaline phosphatase experiments. 

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