Special Issue "Development and Application of Specific Binding Assays for Marine Toxins"

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2022) | Viewed by 1821

Special Issue Editors

Laboratory of Marine Biotoxins, Institut Louis Malardé, UMR EIO (IFREMER, IRD, ILM, UPF), P.O. Box 30 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Interests: marine biotoxins; seafood poisoning; dinoflagellates; toxin production; toxin bioaccumulation in the trophic chain; cell-based assays; ligand-receptor binding assays; monitoring programs
National Oceanic Atmospheric Admin (NOAA), Washington, DC, USA
Interests: marine toxins; ciguatoxin; phylogenetic analysis; molecular biology; molecular ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,                

Marine biotoxins are synthesized by various marine cyanobacteria and microalgae (dinoflagellates, diatoms). Many of these compounds bioaccumulate in the food chain, including commercially and ecologically important fish and shellfish species, and often reach concentrations capable of causing significant illness. To avoid the risk associated with the consumption of contaminated seafood, improved detection methods are actively being developed and refined. Marine biotoxins encompass a large and diverse group of chemical compounds with different structures and modes of action. Knowledge of their biological targets is essential for their efficient and specific detection. This Special Issue invites submissions of original research or review articles highlighting updated knowledge regarding the mechanisms of action of marine biotoxins and their antagonists, with an emphasis on the development of specific binding assays, including the optimization of critical steps, new labelling methodologies, assessment of matrix effects, intra- and inter-laboratory validation approaches, the application of these assays for the detection of toxins in producing microorganisms for monitoring toxin transfer through the food web, and their integration into risk assessment programs. Toxin antagonists are of particular interest because of their low inherent toxicity and the ability to block the deleterious effects of marine biotoxins, both in vivo and in vitro. This makes them ideal candidates for developing therapeutic agents capable of effectively treating toxin-induced illnesses.

Dr. Hélène Taiana Darius
Prof. Dr. Richard Wayne Litaker
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine biotoxins
  • specific binding assays
  • toxin antagonists
  • toxin transfer
  • specific detection
  • toxin-induced illnesses

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Article
Comparative Study on the Performance of Three Detection Methods for the Quantification of Pacific Ciguatoxins in French Polynesian Strains of Gambierdiscus polynesiensis
Mar. Drugs 2022, 20(6), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/md20060348 - 25 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1417
Abstract
Gambierdiscus and Fukuyoa dinoflagellates produce a suite of secondary metabolites, including ciguatoxins (CTXs), which bioaccumulate and are further biotransformed in fish and marine invertebrates, causing ciguatera poisoning when consumed by humans. This study is the first to compare the performance of the fluorescent [...] Read more.
Gambierdiscus and Fukuyoa dinoflagellates produce a suite of secondary metabolites, including ciguatoxins (CTXs), which bioaccumulate and are further biotransformed in fish and marine invertebrates, causing ciguatera poisoning when consumed by humans. This study is the first to compare the performance of the fluorescent receptor binding assay (fRBA), neuroblastoma cell-based assay (CBA-N2a), and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the quantitative estimation of CTX contents in 30 samples, obtained from four French Polynesian strains of Gambierdiscus polynesiensis. fRBA was applied to Gambierdiscus matrix for the first time, and several parameters of the fRBA protocol were refined. Following liquid/liquid partitioning to separate CTXs from other algal compounds, the variability of CTX contents was estimated using these three methods in three independent experiments. All three assays were significantly correlated with each other, with the highest correlation coefficient (r2 = 0.841) found between fRBA and LC-MS/MS. The CBA-N2a was more sensitive than LC-MS/MS and fRBA, with all assays showing good repeatability. The combined use of fRBA and/or CBA-N2a for screening purposes and LC-MS/MS for confirmation purposes allows for efficient CTX evaluation in Gambierdiscus. These findings, which support future collaborative studies for the inter-laboratory validation of CTX detection methods, will help improve ciguatera risk assessment and management. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop