Antibodies made of plastic
Plastic immunityPopular mechanics according to the American Chemical Society: Plastic antibody works in first tests in living animals
Plastic antibodies, such as this group of particles (under a scanning atomic force microscope), can resist a wide range of diseases, including viral infections or allergies.
Natural antibodies – proteins produced by the immune system – are designed to protect the body from infections and foreign substances entering its internal environment. Studies published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (Yu Hoshino et al., Recognition, Neutralization, and Clearance of Target Peptides in the Bloodstream of Living Mice by Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Nanoparticles: A Plastic Antibody) confirm the possibility of using plastic nanoparticles specially created to combat certain antigens, sources which can be pathogenic viruses and bacteria, "problematic" proteins that cause allergic reactions to plant pollen, dust or some food, toxic substances.
In the report, a group of scientists led by Kenneth Shea refers to their previous studies, as a result of which a method was developed for producing plastic nanoparticles (about 1/50000 the thickness of a human hair) that mimic the ability of natural antibodies to "hook" certain antigens. In this case, polymer antibodies were synthesized to "search" for the antigen of melitin, the main toxin of bee venom.
The method of molecular imprinting was used to create antibodies: melitin was mixed with monomers necessary for the "construction" of a plastic nanoparticle. The polymerization reaction combined these monomers into long chains. After the plastic "solidified", the melitin molecules were removed chemically, and in their place there were "prints" with which the resulting particle is able to "recognize" the melitin molecule in the future.
Further experiments on mice showed the effectiveness of polymer antibodies that worked like natural ones. Laboratory mice were injected with melitin, which destroys cell membranes, in lethal doses. Animals that immediately received an injection of artificial antibodies showed significantly higher survival compared to those mice that did not receive nanoparticles. Polymer molecules with particles of neutralized melitin "attached" to them were subsequently removed from the body naturally.
The authors of the study believe that the use of such polymer nanoparticles created by molecular imprinting is possible to simulate a wide range of different antibodies.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru 15.06.2010