On-site detection of bioterrorism-relevant agents

Stern, Daniel; Richter, Martin; Schrick, Livia; Keeren, Kathrin; Polleichtner, Angela; Lemmer, Karin; Nitsche, Andreas; Grunow, Roland; Herzog, Christian; Dorner, Brigitte G.; Schaade, Lars

doi:10.1007/s00103-016-2463-z

Cited by 2 publications

References 43 publications

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Rapid detection of ricin at trace levels in complex matrices by asialofetuin-coated beads and bottom-up proteomics using high-resolution mass spectrometry

Piquet,

Saadi,

Fenaille

et al. 2024

Anal Bioanal Chem

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Ricin is a toxic protein regarded as a potential chemical weapon for bioterrorism or criminal use. In the event of a ricin incident, rapid analytical methods are essential for ricin confirmation in a diversity of matrices, from environmental to human or food samples. Mass spectrometry–based methods provide specific toxin identification but require prior enrichment by antibodies to reach trace-level detection in matrices. Here, we describe a novel assay using the glycoprotein asialofetuin as an alternative to antibodies for ricin enrichment, combined with the specific detection of signature peptides by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Additionally, optimizations made to the assay reduced the sample preparation time from 5 h to 80 min only. Method evaluation confirmed the detection of ricin at trace levels over a wide range of pH and in protein-rich samples, illustrating challenging matrices. This new method constitutes a relevant antibody-free solution for the fast and specific mass spectrometry detection of ricin in the situation of a suspected toxin incident, complementary to active ricin determination by adenine release assays. Graphical Abstract

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