Monoclonal antibody-based differential detection of elapid snake envenomation

What is it about?

The development of on-site venom detection devices is the need of the hour for enabling orderly detection of poisoning cases at the scene of the accident/crime, besides testing for illegal trade of snake parts, including venom, protected under the Wildlife Act. Therefore, identifying the species of the snake responsible for envenomation in a victim is critical for clinical and forensic management of poisoning cases. However, the monovalent antivenom therapy and the field-level detection of venom conducive to adequate crime scene management are limited by the tools available for species or family-specific identification of the venom under question. Therefore, for differential detection of the Elapids of the big four snakes from the Viperidae, the study reports a monoclonal antibody-based lateral flow assay kit using recombinant Cytotoxin– 7 protein. The kit can effectively detect the venoms of big four elapids in both simple and complex matrices of the samples and can be adapted for its use in differential diagnosis.

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Photo by Godwin Angeline Benjo on Unsplash

Photo by Godwin Angeline Benjo on Unsplash

Why is it important?

There is a dire need for the development of point-of-care testing kits for specific and sensitive determination of causative species of any envenomation. With the vast overlap in the genomic and proteomic make-up of different snake species and even snake families, it is of utmost importance to identify the species-specific differential biomarkers and subsequently incorporate them in detection kits.

Perspectives