Dr. Heike Behrensdorf-Nicol, Ursula Bonifas, Dr. Karin Weißer and Dr. Beate Krämer will recieve the price for the development of an in vitro method to detect the remaining toxicity in tetanus vaccine. Currently the remaining toxin molecules during the tetanus vaccine production are tested on guinea pigs or mice. The new test allows measuring the enzymatic activity and the toxin's binding capacity. It therefore offers a combination of two functionally linked assays which are able to detect molecules which possess both: a functional binding domain as well as an active enzymatic domain. This makes it possible for scientists to distinguish between toxic tetanus neurotoxins and nontoxic toxoid. The new method will hopefully provide a basis for the replacement of the animal tests for the detection of tetanus toxicity.
Further information http://www.pei.de/