Applications of Rat Brain Synaptic Vesicle Proteins for Sensitive and Specific Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxins

Abstract

We propose here the application of synaptic vesicle proteins isolated from rat brain as a sole substrate for the specific endoproteinase activities of all seven serotypes of Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT/A to G). In this study, we used these proteins for evaluating endopeptidase and receptor binding activity for detecting BoNT/A by western blot and surface plasmon resonance with 6.25 pM and 0.22 fM limit of detection, respectively. Substrate and receptor present in the synaptic vesicle proteins are very robust and stable for more than 6 months to use in BoNT detection.