Dr. Oliver Weingart from the laboratory of Food Microbiology at ETH Zurich has produced tiny membrane vesicles surrounded by a lipid bilayer that simulate the ends of nerve cells. Embedded in the membrane there are specific nerve cell receptors. There the botulinum neurotoxin binds on the lock and key principle. After acidification of the surrounding liquid the structure of the toxin is changed, so that a part of it is introduced into the liposome. There the toxin develops further activity and crushes a protein located in the bubbles that begins to light after the split. This fluorescence is directly coupled to the BoNT concentration: The more light the liposomes, the higher is the concentration of the poison.

Involved in the research work are a German research group from Medical University of Hannover, the miprolab GmbH, Göttingen, and the Spiez Laboratory.

Currently the researchers standardize the test arrangement and improve the liposomes in order to obtain reliable measurements.

Together with the Federal Office for Civil Protection to which the Spiez Laboratory is affiliated the researchers have registered their new test system for patent worldwide. The project is currently largely funded through a grant from the "3R Research Foundation."

Contact and more information:
ETH Zürich
Dr. Oliver Gerhard Weingart
Labor für Lebensmittelmikrobiologie
Telefon: +41 44 632 33 63
oliver.weingart[at]hest.ethz.ch

Quelle (n German): http://idw-online.de/pages/de/news514652