Interactions between Antibodies and Crystal Surfaces

Abstract

The study of the interactions between crystals and antibodies may provide a unique tool to investigate the rules underlying the recognition between biological macromolecules and organized surfaces. We have proposed that crystal surfaces may behave as antigens, eliciting the formation of specific antibodies. An antibody that recognizes a crystal face may bear in its binding site a structured imprint of a number of molecular moieties exposed on the crystal surface, and consequently act as a stabilizing template for incipient crystallization nuclei. Using a nucleation assay we indeed observed that following exposure to given crystals, antibodies with a high level of specificity for the crystal surface structures are elicited. Monoclonal antibodies against crystals were subsequently selected, on the basis of their adsorption to the crystal surfaces. These clones present a wide range of recognition levels. The molecular basis of these interactions is being investigated.