Antibody Mimics as Bio-orthogonal Catalysts for Highly Selective Bacterial Recognition and Antimicrobial Therapy

Bacterial infectious diseases seriously threaten public health and life. The specific interaction between an antibody and its multivalent antigen is an attractive way to defeat infectious disease. However, due to the high expense and strict storage and applied conditions for antibodies, it is highly desirable but remains an urgent challenge for disease diagnosis and treatment to construct artificial antibodies with strong stability and binding ability and excellent selectivity. Herein, we designed and synthesized antibody-like bio-orthogonal catalysts with the ability to recognize specific bacteria and accomplish in situ drug synthesis in captured bacteria by using improved bacterial imprinting technology. On one hand, the artificial antibody possesses a matching morphology for binding pathogens, and on the other hand, it acts as a bio-orthogonal catalyst for in situ synthesis of antibacterial drugs in live bacteria. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments have demonstrated that our designed antibody can distinguish and selectively bind to specific pathogens and eliminate them on site with the activated drugs. Therefore, our work provides a strategy for designing artificial antibodies with bio-orthogonal catalytic activity and may broaden the application of bio-orthogonal chemistry.