REAL-TIME ASSAY FOR THE DETECTION OF BOTULINUM TOXIN

摘要

A real-time portable and rapid detection assay to identify the presence of biologically active toxins such as botulinum toxins. The proteolytic activity of BoNT/A is measured using a peptide cleavage assay, where a fluorescent substrate is cleaved by BoNT/A, resulting in increased fluorescence. This fluorescence can be monitored in real-time using a fluorescence detection instrument, such as a real-time PCR system that has been modified to implement a detection algorithm specific to the identification of the target toxin.

主权项

1. A device for detecting the presence of biologically active botulinum toxin, comprising:
a chamber for receiving a test sample, said chamber including a peptide substrate labeled with a fluorophore and a quencher and having a cleavage site responsive to biologically active botulinum toxin positioned between said fluorophore and said quencher; a detector for measuring the amount of fluorescence emitted from said sample and outputting a corresponding fluorescence reading positioned proximately to said chamber; a microcontroller interconnected to said detector that is programmed to acquire said fluorescence reading and to determine whether any biologically active botulinum toxin is present in said sample based on said fluorescence reading.