copycat = ?

Context:

World's first plastic antibody works in mice
11:07 11 June 2010 by Andy Coghlan


Plastic copycats

Philipp Holliger of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, said that the plastic antibodies do perform some of the functions of natural antibodies – capturing toxins and sending them to the liver for destruction. "These properties should make them attractive alternatives to antibodies in antidote anti-toxin treatments," he says.

However, Holliger doubts whether they could perform other important functions of natural antibodies, such as priming the body's immune system to fight future infections. Unlike natural antibodies, they are not equipped to communicate with other cells and components of the immune system.

Journal reference: Journal of the American Chemical Society, DOI: 10.1021/ja102148f

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19031-worlds-first-plastic-antibody-works-in-mice.html