Scientists from Saratov have developed a new, cheap and safe method to combat mycotoxins, toxic substances secreted by molds that infect grains. Developers from Saratov State University have created a special receptor that can bind a dangerous toxin using not the mycotoxin itself, but an analogue of the substance. This will significantly reduce the cost and simplify the process of creating testing systems to detect contaminants in grain and produce sorbents to reduce the damage caused by toxins.
Mycotoxins such as zearalenone can cause serious problems by affecting the reproductive systems of farm animals. To effectively identify these in grain, scientists use bioimprinting, in which proteins receive molecular “prints” from toxins. This process allows proteins to “recognize” the toxin and bind to it. Instead of using an expensive and dangerous mycotoxin, scientists used a safe analogue that would make the procedure more accessible.
To develop the receptor, scientists used computational chemistry to find a molecule that would bind well to the zearalenone analogue. They then “trained” bovine albumin to recognize this analogue. Experiments have shown that a protein “trained” on an analog binds mycotoxin as effectively as a protein trained on a real toxin. In the future, scientists plan to create drugs that will neutralize mycotoxins and develop test systems for their detection.
Source: Ferra
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
