Understanding methods of assessing botulinum neurotoxin exposure
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 - 12:31
in Health & Medicine
Popular in cosmetic medicine for making tiny frown wrinkles go away, botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is, perhaps, more notorious for historic outbreaks of respiratory paralysis and death. Traditionally, medical responders have relied on the highly sensitive, but slow, mouse assay to confirm the presence of BoNT and determine its serotype. But today, research emphasis has turned to developing in vitro immunoassay techniques with high sensitivity and rapid sample results -- both important for potential exposure.