© Shutterstock
Traditional antivenoms are made by injecting sublethal toxin doses into an animal to invoke an immune response. Antibodies produced in this immune response are then harvested from the animal’s serum. Such antivenoms are not only expensive but they also required refrigeration – a major limitation considering antivenoms are often required in remote locations.
Now, Steven Sogo and his best students from Laguna Beach High School in California, have synthesised nanoparticles that will selectively bind to toxins in venom from the Mozambique Spitting Cobra. In vitro tests showed that, by binding to the toxins…
Read the full article in Chemistry World»
Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Molecularly-imprinted nanoparticles that recognize Naja mossambica cytotoxins: binding studies and biological effects
Samantha Piszkiewicz, Evan A. Kirkbride, Nicolai Doreng-Stearns, Blake R. Henderson, Melissa A. Lenker, Erika Tang, Laura H. Kawashiri, Curtis S. Nichols, Sebastian C. Moore and Steven G. Sogo
Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 5954-5956
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC42394H
