Abstract
Ricin toxin may be used as a biological warfare agent and no medical countermeasures are currently available. Here, a well-characterized lot of ricin was aerosolized to determine the delivered dose for future pre-clinical efficacy studies. Mouse intraperitoneal (IP) median lethal dose (LD50 ) bioassay measured potency at 5.62 and 7.35μg/kg on Days 0 and 365, respectively. Additional analyses included total protein, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blotting, and rabbit reticulocyte lysate activity assay. The nebulizer aerosol produced consistent concentrations (2.5×103 , 5.0×103 , 1.0×104 , and 1.5×104 μg/mL) and spray factor values. The aerosol particle size distribution was of sufficient size to deposit in lung alveoli (1.12-1.43μm).Ricinus communis Agglutinin II (RCA 60), prepared at 19mg/mL in phosphate-buffered saline, pH 7.8, and stored at -70°C, maintained attributes for toxicity following 1-year storage and aerosolized consistently.
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