Nanoparticles as Antibodies

Plastic nanoparticles acted as antibody in capturing the bee venom in mice.

clipped from timesofindia.indiatimes.com In a 1st, experts create plastic antibodies to fight antigens Researchers from the University of California at Irvine who worked on the project along with scientists from Stanford University and Japan’s University of Shizuoka, created nanoparticle-size plastic polymers to encase melittin, a toxic peptide in bee venom that causes cells to rupture. Large quantities of melittin can lead to organ failure and death. The nanoparticles succeeded in “capturing” the antigens before they could disperse, thus reducing deaths among the mice, which also fared well in the weeks following the jab, according to UCI professor Kenneth Shea. Mice in a control group injected with the toxin but not the antibodies did not survive. “Never before have synthetic antibodies been shown to effectively function in the bloodstream of living animals,” Shea said. “This technique could be utilized to make plastic nanoparticles designed to fight more lethal toxins and pathogens.”

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