Trends in detection methods of ricin / 军事医学科学院院刊

ABSTRACT

Ricin is a plant-derived ribosome-inhibitor which can be easily purified in large quantities from castor beans. It is a potent irreversible inhibitor of protein synthesis. The mode of intoxication could be inhalation, ingestion, intravenous injection.Ricin has been classified as a schedule 1 threat agent by the Chemical Weapons Convention.A fast and sensitive method for the detection of this threat agent is an important tool for preventing or dealing with the consequences of intoxication. An ideal method should be highly sensitve, highly selective, and well capable of identifying ricin in a short assay time. Several methods have been established for ricin detection. This review summaries the development of detection methods for ricin in recent years.