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Toxins
Special Issues
Novel Technologies for the Detection and Identification of Natural Toxins
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Novel Technologies for the Detection and Identification of Natural Toxins

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2025 | Viewed by 2142

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rui Xiao

E-Mail
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
Interests: toxin detection; immunoassay; testing technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wenwen Xin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
Interests: microbial molecular biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Low-level exposure to natural toxins can have severe consequences for human and animal health, often leading to poisoning or even fatalities. These toxins are frequently introduced into the food chain, water sources, and other environmental matrices, triggering highly perilous incidents that pose a significant global public safety concern. The detection of natural toxins is fraught with challenges, such as the need for ultra-high sensitivity to detect minute yet lethal doses of toxins, and the requirement for simple, rapid-to-perform techniques to safeguard non-professional handlers from potential toxin exposure. Additionally, the absence of specific antigens and antibodies for many toxins has hindered the development of effective clinical detection methods. This Special Issue focuses on presenting novel and innovative approaches in the field of natural toxin research. It encompasses a wide range of topics including the use of state-of-the-art sensor technologies for toxin detection, novel immunodetection techniques, point-of testing-care (POCT) strategies tailored for toxins, the application of nanozymes and newly-developed fluorescent nanomaterials for sensitive toxin detection. We encourage researchers to contribute their latest research findings on the detection, identification, and activity determination of natural toxins, aiming to break new ground in this critical area of study.

Dr. Rui Xiao
Dr. Wenwen Xin
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 double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins 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 2700 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

  • toxins
  • identification
  • biosensors
  • POCT
  • detection

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 883 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Formation of Six Beta-Carboline Alkaloids, a Class of Natural Toxins, in Meat Products Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
by Kyung-Jik Lim, Do-Kyeong Lee and Han-Seung Shin
Toxins 2025, 17(6), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17060266 - 27 May 2025
Viewed by 329
Abstract
Beta-carboline alkaloids (βC-alkaloids) are natural toxins found in various foods, and can also form during the thermal processing of protein-rich ingredients. This study investigated the formation of six βC-alkaloids in pork belly, beef sirloin, mackerel, and cutlassfish subjected to pan-frying, boiling, steaming, and [...] Read more.
Beta-carboline alkaloids (βC-alkaloids) are natural toxins found in various foods, and can also form during the thermal processing of protein-rich ingredients. This study investigated the formation of six βC-alkaloids in pork belly, beef sirloin, mackerel, and cutlassfish subjected to pan-frying, boiling, steaming, and air-frying at 170–250 °C for 2–24 min. Microwave pretreatment (1–5 min) was applied prior to cooking to assess its mitigation potential. Quantification was performed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Pan-frying significantly promoted βC-alkaloid formation, with harman and norharman levels reaching up to 534.63 µg/kg and 217.06 µg/kg in beef sirloin, and 212.44 µg/kg and 533.01 µg/kg in cutlassfish, respectively. Air-frying generated lower alkaloid levels overall compared to pan-frying. Microwave pretreatment effectively mitigated alkaloid formation. The pretreatment of beef sirloin for 2 min resulted in a reduction in the norharman and harmaline levels by 78.4% and 96.5%, respectively. This study provides a comprehensive comparison of six βC-alkaloids across various food types and cooking methods, demonstrating the influence of cooking parameters on alkaloid formation. This study underscores the importance of understanding the thermal formation of natural toxins in foods and offers insight into practical strategies to minimize their occurrence in daily diets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Technologies for the Detection and Identification of Natural Toxins)
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11 pages, 1985 KiB  
Article
BLF1 Affects ATP Hydrolysis Catalyzed by Native and Mutated eIF4A1 and eIF4A2 Proteins
by Min An, Xin Cheng, Yu Zhang, Jiang Gu and Xuhu Mao
Toxins 2025, 17(5), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17050232 - 7 May 2025
Viewed by 322
Abstract
Burkholderia lethal factor 1 (BLF1), a toxin derived from Burkholderia pseudomallei, reacts with eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4A to inhibit protein synthesis. eIF4A1 and eIF4A2 are involved in translation initiation and share over 90% sequence similarity. However, they exert distinct effects on [...] Read more.
Burkholderia lethal factor 1 (BLF1), a toxin derived from Burkholderia pseudomallei, reacts with eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4A to inhibit protein synthesis. eIF4A1 and eIF4A2 are involved in translation initiation and share over 90% sequence similarity. However, they exert distinct effects on cancer treatment outcomes. To understand the molecular mechanism by which BLF1 modulates eIF4A isoforms in cancer cells, we investigated its effects on eIF4A-mediated adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis. We found that eIF4A1 has a higher ATP-binding affinity compared to eIF4A2 (Km = 6.55 ± 0.78 μM vs. Km = 11.61 ± 2.33 μM). Meanwhile, we also found that eIF4A1 is more sensitive to changes in temperature, pH, and Mg2+ concentration. Through N-terminal swapping and single amino acid mutations, we found that leucine 98 (L98) and alanine 100 (A100) play important roles in the ATPase activities of eIF4A isoforms. Moreover, BLF1 treatment significantly enhanced eIF4A2-mediated ATP hydrolysis at all tested ATP concentrations. These differences in BLF1-regulated eIF4A isoforms may explain its selective cytotoxicity against cancer cells. Our findings provide molecular insights into the functional difference between eIF4A isoforms and suggest that BLF1 might be of promising value for anticancer therapies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Technologies for the Detection and Identification of Natural Toxins)
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20 pages, 5467 KiB  
Article
Bongkrekic Acid and Its Novel Isomers: Separation, Identification, and Determination in Food Matrices
by Suhe Dong, Danli Liu, Runfeng Lin, Yingjie Zhu, Peihong Zhu, Xin Jiang, Jie Mao, Yanqing Cao, Jing Peng, Tianyue Zhao, Danning Shen, Tao Li, Kun He and Na Wang
Toxins 2025, 17(5), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17050223 - 2 May 2025
Viewed by 431
Abstract
The toxicity associated with bongkrekic acid (BKA) is severe due to its chemical structure, which also facilitates high mortality rates; however, its isomer, isobongkrekic acid (iBKA), with only minor structural variance, demonstrates marked differences in toxicity. This discrepancy in structural properties and toxicity [...] Read more.
The toxicity associated with bongkrekic acid (BKA) is severe due to its chemical structure, which also facilitates high mortality rates; however, its isomer, isobongkrekic acid (iBKA), with only minor structural variance, demonstrates marked differences in toxicity. This discrepancy in structural properties and toxicity highlights that risks have been potentially underestimated within current detection standards for BKAs. In this study, a novel BKA trans isomer at the C8 and C9 double carbon bonds (E-configuration), termed iBKA-neo, was successfully separated and identified. Subsequently, the multiple reaction monitoring parameters and chromatographic conditions for three BKA isomers were optimized, enabling effective separation within 15 min via UHPLC-MS/MS, among which the ammonium positive adduct ions yielded significantly higher response intensities for all BKA isomers than traditional deprotonated molecules. Additionally, distinct differences in the ion ratios between iBKA-neo and BKA were utilized for preliminary screening. On this basis, the extraction and enrichment strategies for BKAs were optimized in food matrices and validated comprehensively with good linearity (0.25–500 μg/kg), a superior limit of quantification (0.25 μg/kg), acceptable recoveries (82.32–114.84%), and stable intraday and interday precision (an RSD less than 12.67%). These findings significantly contribute to ecotoxicology and the formulation of safety standards concerning BKAs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Technologies for the Detection and Identification of Natural Toxins)
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16 pages, 3767 KiB  
Article
Establishment and Comparison of Detection Methods for Ricin and Abrin Based on Their Depurination Activities
by Lina Dong, Tingting Liu, Jiaxin Li, Cen Wang, Jing Lv, Jing Wang, Jinglin Wang, Shan Gao, Lin Kang and Wenwen Xin
Toxins 2025, 17(4), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17040177 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 565
Abstract
Ricin (RT) and abrin (AT) are plant toxins extracted from Ricinus communis and Abrus precatorius, respectively, and both have N-glycosidase activity. The detection of these toxins is vital because of their accessibility and bioterrorism potential. While ricin can be effectively detected based [...] Read more.
Ricin (RT) and abrin (AT) are plant toxins extracted from Ricinus communis and Abrus precatorius, respectively, and both have N-glycosidase activity. The detection of these toxins is vital because of their accessibility and bioterrorism potential. While ricin can be effectively detected based on its depurination activity, only a few tests are available for detecting the depurination activity of abrin. Therefore, it is unclear whether they share the same optimal reaction substrate and conditions. Here, we established optimum depurination conditions for ricin and abrin, facilitating the in vitro detection of their depurination activity using high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The parameters optimized were the reaction substrate, bovine serum albumin (BSA), buffer, pH, temperature, time, antibodies, and magnetic beads. Both toxins showed better depurination with single-stranded DNA. However, substrate length, adenine content, BSA concentration, buffer concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time differed between the two toxins. The optimal conditions for ricin depurination involved a reaction in 1 mM ammonium acetate solution (0.5 μM DNA15A, 20 μg/mL BSA, and 1 mM Zn2+, with pH 4.0) at 55 °C for 1 h. The optimal conditions for abrin depurination involved a reaction in 1 mM ammonium citrate solution (0.2 μM DNA20A, 10 μg/mL BSA, 1 mM Mg2+, and 0.5 mM EDTA, with pH 4.0) at 45 °C for 2 h. After optimization, the limits of detection (LOD) for ricin and abrin were 0.506 ng/mL and 0.168 ng/mL, respectively. The detection time was also significantly reduced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Technologies for the Detection and Identification of Natural Toxins)
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