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Methods for Biological Toxin Identification


EMSL Project ID
49532

Abstract

Biological toxins are of human health and biosecurity concern. Identification of such toxins often relies on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods, but orthogonal approaches are desired. The objective of this project is to develop mass spectrometry-based assays to identify and characterize protein toxins. The potential impact of this investigation is wide-reaching, including application in the public health and security fields. Utilization of EMSL resources, specifically the Q-Exactive HF instrument, will be essential for generation of high quality data for use in downstream applications and to align with end-user instrumentation. Since toxins will either be analyzed in inactive forms or at low levels, no significant toxicity risks are anticipated.

Project Details

Start Date
2016-07-15
End Date
2018-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Karen Wahl
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Team Members

Eric Merkley
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Related Publications

Merkley ED, LH Sego, A Lin, OP Leiser, BLD Kaiser, JN Adkins, PS Keim, DM Wagner, and HW Kreuzer. 2017. "Protein Abundances can Distinguish Between Naturally-occurring and Laboratory Strains of Yersinia pestis, the Causative Agent of Plague." PLoS One 12(8):e0183478. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183478
Merkley ED, SC Jenson, JS Arce, AM Melville, OP Leiser, DS Wunschel, and KL Wahl. 2017. "Ricin-Like Proteins from the Castor Plant Do Not Influence Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Detection of Ricin in Forensically Relevant Samples." Toxicon 140:18-31. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2017.10.004
O'Bryon I., A.E. Tucker, B. Kaiser, K.L. Wahl, and E.D. Merkley. 2019. "Constructing a Tandem Mass Spectral Library for Forensic Ricin Identification." Journal of Proteome Research 18, no. 11:3926-3935. PNNL-SA-142872. doi:10.1021/acs.jproteome.9b00377