Citation

Armengaud J. Proteomics 2016; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Laboratory "Innovative technologies for Detection and Diagnostics", CEA, DRF, IBiTec-S, SPI, Li2D, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, F-30200, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/pmic.201600412

PMID

27928908

Abstract

The intentional use by terrorists of biological toxins as weapons has been of great concern for many years. Amongst the numerous toxins produced by plants, animals, algae, fungi and bacteria, ricin is one of the most scrutinized by the media because it has already been used in biocrimes and acts of bioterrorism. Improving the analytical toolbox of national authorities to monitor these potential bioweapons all at once is of the utmost interest. Tandem mass spectrometry allows their absolute quantitation and exhibits advantageous sensitivity, discriminative power, multiplexing possibilities, and speed. In this issue of Proteomics, Gilquin et al. (Proteomics 2016, 16, XX-XY) present a robust multiplex assay to quantify a set of eight toxins in the presence of a complex food matrix. This tandem mass spectrometry reference method is based on scheduled selected reaction monitoring (SRM) and high quality standards consisting of isotopically labelled versions of these toxins. Their results demonstrate robust reliability based on rather loose scheduling of SRM transitions and good sensitivity for the eight toxins, lower than their oral LD50s. In the face of an increased threat from terrorism, relevant reference assays based on advanced proteomics and high quality companion toxin standards are reliable and firm answers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en