Recognition Properties of Antibodies to PAMAM Dendrimers and Their Use in Immune Detection of Dendrimers

Antibodies are immune proteins which specifically recognize and bind foreign macromolecules (antigens) and are critical in protective immune responses to viruses and other pathogens. Their exquisite specificity of binding, as well as their relative ease of production, have made antibodies invaluable reagents in biotechnology, and antibodies to dendritic polymers would presumably be similarly powerful, were they available. We have developed methods for generating and detecting antibody responses to PAMAM dendrimers, and have partially defined the recognition specificities of those antibodies. Furthermore, we have used the antibodies in multiple immune detection procedures. We also propose applications of our antibodies to assemble defined supramolecular assemblies of dendrimers and to pattern the surface of dendrimers. Our results and those of others suggest that it may be possible to generate antibodies to many synthetic nanostructures, and that these reagents should have numerous applications in nanotechnology.