Botulin toxin

Botulin toxin, popularly sold under the brand name Botox®, is a potent neurotoxin that has found a variety of remarkable uses in modern medicine. It is also the most popular nonsurgical medical cosmetic treatment in the UK and USA. Botulin toxin - Chemical overview. Botulinum (botulinus) toxin is the toxic compound produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The names Botox® and Dysport® are trade names and should not be used generically to describe the neurotoxins produced by Clostridia spec ...

Including:

• Botulin toxin - Chemical overview
• Botulin toxin - History
• Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare
• Botulin toxin - Medical uses
• Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

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Botulinum (botulinus) toxin is the toxic compound produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The names Botox® and Dysport® are trade names and should not be used generically to describe the neurotoxins produced by Clostridia species. There are seven serologically distinct toxin types, designated A through G; 3 subtypes of A have been described. The toxins incorporate an enzyme (a protease) that attacks one of the fusion proteins at a neuromuscular junction, preventing vesicles from anchoring to the to the membrane to release a ...

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Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Chemical overview

Botulinum (botulinus) toxin is the toxic compound produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The names Botox® and Dysport® are trade names and should not be used generically to describe the neurotoxins produced by Clostridia species. There are seven serologically distinct toxin types, designated A through G; 3 subtypes of A have been described. The toxins incorporate an enzyme (a protease) that attacks one of the fusion proteins at a neuromuscular junction, preventing vesicles from anchoring to the membrane to release acetylch ...

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Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Chemical overview

The Institute develops basic and applied biomedical research in many areas, including molecular biology, immunology and epidemiology and has a graduate research training program in collaboration with other institutions, in the areas of biotechnology and infectology. Besides its research laboratories, production units and specialized library, it operates a specialized hospital, the Hospital Vital Brazil, and an animal breeding center for providing subjects for research and production of sera. It also accepts donations of serpents, arthropods and other animals captured by the publ ...

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Instituto Butantan, Instituto Butantan - Education and research, Instituto Butantan - Production, Instituto Butantan - Hyperimmune sera and antivenoms, Instituto Butantan - Vaccines, Instituto Butantan - Biopharmaceuticals, Instituto Butantan - Public activities, Instituto Butantan - Butantan Foundation, Instituto Butantan - External link

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All isotopes and compounds of plutonium are toxic and radioactive. While plutonium is sometimes described in media reports as "the most toxic substance known to man", there is general agreement among experts in the field that this is incorrect. As of 2003, there has yet to be a single human death officially attributed to plutonium exposure. Naturally-occurring radium is about 200 times more radiotoxic than plutonium, and some organic toxins like Botulin toxin are still more toxic. Botulin toxin, in particular, has ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

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While almost all plutonium is manufactured synthetically, extremely tiny trace amounts are found naturally in uranium ores. These come about by a process of neutron capture by 238U nuclei, initially forming 239U; two subsequent beta decays then form 239Pu (with a 239Np intermediary), which has a half-life of 24,100 years. This is also the process used to manufacture 239Pu in nuclear reactors. Some traces of 244Pu remain from the birth of the solar system from waste of supernovae, because its ha ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

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In the United States, FDA regulations permit physicians to prescribe approved medications for other than their intended indications. Marketing information for the drug will list one or more indications, i.e., illnesses or medical conditions for which the drug has been shown to be both safe and effective. Pharmaceutical companies are not allowed to promote a drug for any other purpose without formal FDA approval. However, once a drug has been approved for sale for one purpose, physicians are free to prescribe it for any other purpose t ...

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Off-label use, Off-label use - Off-label use and the law, Off-label use - Off-label use of narcotics, Off-label use - Examples of off-label use

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Plutonium reacts readily with oxygen, forming PuO and PuO2, as well as intermediate oxides. It reacts with the halides, giving rise to compounds such as PuX3 where X can be F, Cl, Br or I; PuF4 is also seen. The following oxyhalides are observed: PuOCl, PuOBr and PuOI. It will react with carbon to form PuC, nitrogen to form PuN and silicon to form PuSi2. Plutonium like other actinides readily forms a dioxide plutonyl core (PuO2). In the environment, this plutonyl core readily comp ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

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The isotope 239Pu is a key fissile component in modern nuclear weapons, due to its ease of fissioning and availability. The critical mass for an unreflected sphere of plutonium is 16 kg, but through the use of a neutron reflecting tamper the pit of plutonium in a fission bomb is reduced to 10 kg, which is a sphere with a diameter of 10 cm. Complete detonation of plutonium will produce an explosion of 20 kilotons of TNT per kilogram. (See also Nuclear Weapon Design.) Plutonium could also be used to manufacture radiological weapons ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

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The Butantan Institute is the largest producer in Latin America (and one of the largest in the world) of immunobiologicals and biopharmaceuticals. In 2001 it produced ca. 11O million doses of vaccines and 300 thousand vials of hyperimmune sera. The production units manufacture the following bioproducts: Instituto Butantan - Hyperimmune sera and antivenoms. Anti-Bothropic Anti-Crotalic Anti-Bothropic-Crotalic Anti-Elapidic Anti-Bothropic-Lachetic Anti-Escor ...

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Instituto Butantan, Instituto Butantan - Education and research, Instituto Butantan - Production, Instituto Butantan - Hyperimmune sera and antivenoms, Instituto Butantan - Vaccines, Instituto Butantan - Biopharmaceuticals, Instituto Butantan - Public activities, Instituto Butantan - Butantan Foundation, Instituto Butantan - External link

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Twenty-one plutonium radioisotopes have been characterized. The most stable are Pu-244, with a half-life of 80.8 million years, Pu-242, with a half-life of 373,300 years, and Pu-239, with a half-life of 24,110 years. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 7,000 years. This element also has eight meta states, though none are very stable (all have half-lives less than one second). The isotopes of plutonium range in atomic weight from 228.0387 u (Pu-228) to 247.074 u (Pu-247). The primary decay modes ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

Read more here: » Plutonium: Encyclopedia II - Plutonium - Isotopes

The isotope Plutonium-239 is a key fissile component in modern nuclear weapons, due to its ease of fissioning and availability. The critical mass for an unreflected sphere of plutonium is 16 kg, but through the use of a neutron reflecting tamper the pit of plutonium in a fission bomb is reduced to 10 kg, which is a sphere with a diameter of 10 cm. Complete detonation of plutonium will produce an explosion of 20 kilotons of TNT per kilogram. (See also Nuclear Weapon Design.) Plutonium could also be used to manufacture radiological weapons ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

Read more here: » Plutonium: Encyclopedia II - Plutonium - Applications

Initially predicted by Walter Russell, the production of plutonium and neptunium by bombarding uranium-238 with neutrons was predicted in 1940 by two teams working independently: Edwin M. McMillan and Philip Abelson at Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley and by Norman Feather & Egon Bretscher at the Cavendish Laboratory at University of Cambridge. Coincidentally both teams proposed the same names to follow on from uranium, li ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

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Plutonium is silvery in pure form, but has a yellow tarnish when oxidized. Peculiarly, the metal goes through phases of contraction as its temperature is increased. The heat given off by alpha particle emission makes plutonium warm to the touch in reasonable quantities; larger amounts can boil water. It displays four ionic oxidation states in aqueous solution: Pu3+ (blue lavender) Pu4+ (yellow brown) PuO2+ (pink orange) PuO+ (thought to be pink; this i ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

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Even at ambient pressure, plutonium occurs in a variety of allotropes. These allotropes differ widely in crystal structure and density; the α and δ allotropes differ in density by more than 25% at the same volume. The presence of these many allotropes makes machining plutonium very difficult, as it changes state very readily. The reasons for the complicated phase diagram are not entirely understood; recent research has focused on constructing accurate c ...

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Plutonium, Plutonium - Notable characteristics, Plutonium - Applications, Plutonium - History, Plutonium - Occurrence, Plutonium - Manufacture, Plutonium - Compounds, Plutonium - Allotropes, Plutonium - Isotopes, Plutonium - Precautions

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Botulin toxin has always been considered an inferior agent for chemical warfare since it degrades rapidly on exposure to air, and therefore an area attacked with the toxic aerosol would be safe to enter within a day or so. There are no documented cases of the toxin's actually being used in warfare; however, it was probably used in the Operation Anthropoid to kill top Nazi Reinhard Heydrich ([1]) and in "Operation Mongoose" in 1961, the CIA saturated some cigars, of Fidel Castro's favorite brand, with botulinum toxin for a possible assassination attempt. The cigars were never used, but when t ...

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Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

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The German physician and poet Justinus Kerner first developed the idea of a possible therapeutic use of botulinum toxin, which he called "sausage poison." In 1870, Muller (another German physician) coined the name botulism. The Latin form is botulus, which means sausage. In 1895, Emile Van Ermengem first isolated the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In 1944, Edward Schantz cultured Clostridium botulinum and isolated the toxin, and, in 1949, Burgen's group discovered that botulinum toxin blocks neuromuscular transmission. Throughout the 1950s ...

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Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - History

Botulin toxin has always been considered an inferior agent for chemical warfare since it degrades rapidly on exposure to air, and therefore an area attacked with the toxic aerosol would be safe to enter within a day or so. There are no documented cases of the toxin's actually being used in warfare; however, in "Operation Mongoose" in 1961, the CIA saturated some cigars, of Fidel Castro's favorite brand, with botulinum toxin for a possible assassination attempt. The cigars were never used, but when t ...

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Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare

Researchers discovered in the 1950s that injecting overactive muscles with minute quantities of botulinum toxin type A decreased muscle activity by blocking the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, thereby rendering the muscle unable to contract for a period of 4 to 6 months. Alan Scott, a San Francisco opthamologist, first applied tiny doses of the toxin in a medicinal sense to treat crossed eyes and uncontrollable blinking, but a partner was needed to gain regulatory approval to market his discovery as a drug. All ...

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Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Medical uses