Use of lactose against the deadly biological toxin ricin

Abstract

Developing a technology for detecting and decontaminating biological toxins is needed. Ricin from Ricinus communis is a highly poisonous toxin; it was formerly used for an assassination in London and in postal attacks in the United States. Ricin is readily available from castor beans and could be used as a biological agent. We propose using glycotechnology against the illegal use of ricin. Lactose (a natural ligand of this toxin) was incorporated into polyacrylamide-based glycopolymers at variable sugar densities (18-100%) and evaluated with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and the real agent, ricin. Glycopolymers (18-65% lactose densities) effectively interfered with the toxin-lactoside adhesion event (>99% efficiency within 20 min). This supported the notion of using the mammary sugar lactose against a deadly biological toxin.