Plastic Antibodies Fight Toxins
June 16, 2010 | Source: Technology Review
University of California, Irvine researchers have shown that a nonbiological molecule called a plastic antibody can work just like a natural antibody.
Researchers are now developing plastic antibodies for a wide range of disease targets in hopes of broadening the availability of antibody therapies, which are currently very expensive.
The toxin melittin, labeled purple in these fluorescent images, spreads throughout the body of an untreated mouse, shown at bottom, but not so widely in the mouse at top, which has been injected with an artificial antibody. (Kenneth Shea)
