Reactibodies generated by kinetic selection couple chemical reactivity with favorable protein dynamics.

In the search to create de novo protein catalysts, catalytic antibodies (abzymes) have been shown to be very efficient. CAbs are primarily made by inducing an immune response with a hapten that resembles the transition state of a reaction. This selection scheme allows for a protein environment that thermodynamiclly stabilizes the TS, but is not necessarily favored kinetically. This paper describes the generation of "reactibodies", which are selected for chemical reactivity rather than ground state binding by forming a irreversible covalent bond.