title: Use of lactose against the deadly biological toxin ricin.
abstract: Developing a technology for detecting and decontaminating biological toxins is needed. Ricin from Ricinus communis is a highly poisonous toxin; it was formerly used for an assassination in London and in postal attacks in the United States. Ricin is readily available from castor beans and could be used as a biological agent. We propose using glycotechnology against the illegal use of ricin. Lactose (a natural ligand of this toxin) was incorporated into polyacrylamide-based glycopolymers at variable sugar densities (18-100%) and evaluated with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and the real agent, ricin. Glycopolymers (18-65% lactose densities) effectively interfered with the toxin-lactoside adhesion event (>99% efficiency within 20 min). This supported the notion of using the mammary sugar lactose against a deadly biological toxin.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, 305-8565, Japan.
authors.forename: Takehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagatsuka
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uzawa
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ohsawa
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishida
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites / Q000235:genetics; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D023482:Bioterrorism; D002367:Ricinus communis / Q000378:metabolism; D004705:Endocytosis; D006027:Glycosides / Q000737:chemistry; D007785:Lactose / Q000737:chemistry*; D008024:Ligands; D008956:Models, Chemical; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D012276:Ricin / Q000737:chemistry*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance; D013997:Time Factors; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D006027:Glycosides; D008024:Ligands; D011108:Polymers; D014118:Toxins, Biological; C008245:lactosides; D012276:Ricin; D007785:Lactose