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magazine
story to find out more. |
ARS scientists have
devised a new test for botulism that is 10 times more sensitive than the
current assay and is easier and less expensive to use. Click the image for
more information about it. |
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Botulism Assay Quickly Detects Potent Foodborne
Toxin
By Marcia
Wood May 4, 2009
Though cases of botulism food poisoning aren't common in the United
States today, they're nonetheless of concern to food safety researchers. That's
why Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
biologist
Larry
H. Stanker and colleagues at the ARS
Western
Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., developed a new, improved test
for detecting what's known as "serotype A" of the toxin.
According to Stanker, the botulinum toxin that causes botulism occurs
in seven different serotypes--A through G. A and B are culprits in most of the
foodborne botulism cases in this country.
For decades, the "gold standard" of tests for detecting botulinum
toxin has been an assay that requires laboratory mice. That assay takes at
least four days to perform correctly, and is neither portable nor economical.
In contrast, the assay that Stanker and two Albany
colleagues--biologist
Luisa
W. Cheng and research associate
Miles
C. Scotcher--have developed relies on laboratory-built molecules known as
monoclonal antibodies, which can bind to the toxin.
Monoclonal antibodies that bind to serotype A toxin aren't new. But
the ones the Albany team developed may be the most sensitive yet produced,
capable of detecting the toxin in minuscule amounts. Stanker has formatted
these antibodies into an assay that is 10 times more sensitive than the mouse
assay, yet is easier to use and less expensive.
Stanker described the work in a 2008 article in the
Journal
of Immunological Methods, and now expects to complete assays for
detecting serotypes B and E sometime this year. Already, he is working with
Safeguard Biosystems, Inc., of San Diego, Calif., to package two of the
serotype A antibodies into a dipstick-style test kit that looks and operates
much like a home pregnancy test. The botulinum kit is intended for testing
liquids, such as beverages, or clinical specimens, such as blood or urine.
Read
more about this research in the May/June 2009 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture.