Catalytic antibodies as chemical sensors

A method for detecting an analyte of interest in an environment wherein the analyte is consumed or generated during the course of a chemical reaction, which method comprises:

• (a) contacting said analyte of interest to bind to a catalytic monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof immobilized on a surface of, or on a surface associated with, a sensing means, said catalytic monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof being capable of catalyzing a chemical reaction whereby said chemical reaction occurs in said environment, wherein at least one reactant is converted to at least one product and thereby forming an antibody-reactant complex, catalytically converting said complexed reactant to said product and releasing said product from said complex, thereby regenerating said antibody or fragment;
• (b) detecting by the sensing means the binding of the analyte of the catalytic monoclonal antibody and transducing information related to said binding by a transducer;
• (c) processing the information generated by the transducer;
• and
• (d) releasing the analyte from the antibody by catalyzing a reaction of said analyte and thereby detecting the analyte of interest in the environment.