Abstract
Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are bacterial protein toxins which are considered likely agents for bioterrorism due to their extreme toxicity and high availability. A new mass spectrometry based assay called Endopep MS detects and defines the toxin serotype in clinical and food matrices via toxin activity upon a peptide substrate which mimics the toxin’s natural target. Furthermore, the subtype of the toxin is differentiated by employing mass spectrometry based proteomic techniques on the same sample. The Endopep-MS assay selectively detects active BoNT and defines the serotype faster and with sensitivity greater than the mouse bioassay. One 96-well plate can be analyzed in under 7 h. On higher level or “hot” samples, the subtype can then be differentiated in less than 2 h with no need for DNA.
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Kalb, S.R., Pirkle, J.L., Barr, J.R. (2011). Mass Spectrometric Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin by Measuring its Activity in Serum and Milk. In: Banoub, J. (eds) Detection of Biological Agents for the Prevention of Bioterrorism. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series A: Chemistry and Biology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9815-3_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9815-3_8
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