D. Perltreves et al., INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ANTIBODIES AND CRYSTAL-SURFACES, Molecular crystals and liquid crystals science and technology. Section A, Molecular crystals and liquid crystals, 278, 1996, pp. 1-15
The study of the interactions between crystals and antibodies may prov
ide a unique tool to investigate the rules underlying the recognition
between biological macromolecules and organized surfaces. We have prop
osed that crystal surfaces may behave as antigens, eliciting the forma
tion of specific antibodies. An antibody that recognizes a crystal fac
e may bear in its binding site a structured imprint of a number of mol
ecular moieties exposed on the crystal surface, and consequently act a
s 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 crystal
s were subsequently selected, on the basis of their adsorption to the
crystal surfaces. These clones present a wide range of recognition lev
els. The molecular basis of these interactions is being investigated.