PEPTIDES, ANTIBODIES, AND METHODS FOR DETECTION OF BOTULINUM NEURITOXIN A SUBTYPES

摘要

The invention provides a mass spectrometry method able to identify BoNT/A subtypes in complex matrices, including crude culture supematants and food, environmental, and biological samples. Peptides from the BoNT light chain (Lc) specific for BoNT/A subtypes were identified. The method comprises an immunocapture step with antibodies specific for BoNT/A Lc chains followed by mass spectrometry, preferably liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (QqQ) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. In addition to the detection of peptides from the BoNT light chain (Lc) specific for BoNT/A subtypes, peptides from the BoNT heavy chain (Hc) specific for BoNT/A subtypes can also be detected.