Denatured Ricin Can Be Detected as Native Ricin by Immunological Methods, But Nontoxic In Vivo

• NCJ Number: 231236
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 55 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2010 Pages: 801-807
• Author(s): Om Kumar, Ph.D.; Santwana Pradhan, M.Sc.; Payal Sehgal, M.Sc.; Yamini Singh, M.Sc.; Rajagopalan Vijayaraghavan, Ph.D.
• Date Published: May 2010
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The present study purified and denatured ricin in a boiling water bath for different time intervals. It further attempted to identify native and denatured ricin by immunobased detection systems.

Abstract

Ricin is a glycoprotein from Ricinus communis seeds. It is known to have diverse toxic effects on cells of different visceral organs. The current study found that all the antigen/antibody-based assays identified native and denatured ricin. On SDS-PAGE, only native ricin was observed. In western blotting, ricin boiled for 3.75 min gave a strong band on X-ray film. On native polyacryl amide gel electrophoresis, native and denatured ricin gave ricin band in 60-kDa region. The denatured ricin did cause mortality up to 25 mg/kg, while 5 and 10 ìg/kg of native ricin caused 50 percent and 100 percent mortality, respectively. Detection of native and denatured ricin is very difficult, and the investigating agencies, forensic scientists, and analysts should be very careful while interpreting the results. 9 figures, 1 table and 29 references (Published Abstract)