Catalytic antibodies that degrade cocaine have potential as anti-addiction therapeutic agents. Nine such catalysts have been previously elicited and cloned and are being mutagenized abused to improve catalytic activity. However, the synthesis of transition-states analog is the first, critical step in the creation of catalytic antibodies and two new strategies have recently been reported for the generation of antibodies with especially high catalytic activity - reactive immunization and heterologous immunization. Utilizing these strategies, the design and synthesized novel transition-state analogs for the hydrolysis of the benzoyl ester of cocaine is proposed. These analogs are expected to elicit antibodies with potent catalytic mechanisms, such as acid-base catalysis or covalent catalysis, and high activity for the hydrolysis of cocaine.
