Catalytic monoclonal antibodies: tailor-made, enzyme-like catalysts for chemical reactions

During the past two years, monoclonal antibodies with enzyme-like catalytic properties have been successfully raised. They catalyse a variety of reactions (hydrolysis of esters, amides and carbonates; bimolecular reactions; cyclization reactions; elimination reactions; asymmetric synthesis) with rate enhancements of up to 6 × 10⁶ fold and high specificity, including enantiomer specificity. Hybrid antibodies containing covalently-linked catalytic or probe groups have been prepared and antibody-mediated peptide hydrolysis catalysed by metal ion complexes has been reported. Catalytic monoclonal antibodies could have wide-ranging, exciting applications in biology, medicine, chemistry and biotechnology.