Antibody-antigen binding in organic solvents

We describe, for the first time, the action of antibodies in anhydrous organic solvents. It has been demonstrated that the binding of a hapten, 4-aminobiphenyl, to the immobilized monoclonal antibody 2E11 is strong and specific not only in water but also in a variety of non-aqueous media. Further, the strength of interaction between antibody and hapten has been related to the hydrophobicity of the solvent: the more hydrophobic the solvent, the weaker the protein-ligand interaction.