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  1. Licensing and Collaboration Opportunities

Purified Saxitoxin for Food Safety Applications

Download the Abstract (PDF - 131KB)

Technology Summary

Available for licensing as a biological material for research purposes is purified saxitoxin. Saxitoxin is the parent compound in a family of natural toxins that can occur in seafood and can cause food borne illness. Highly purified saxitoxin is vital for the development, validation, and calibration of detection methods for these toxins, as well as for fundamental studies in physiology and pain management. Interested parties may license the compound for conjugation chemistry and radiolabeling with the end goal of generating a research reagent.

Potential Commercial Applications Competitive Advantages
  • Detection of food borne illness, toxins, and seafood contamination.
  • Development, validation, and calibration of saxitoxin detection methods.
  • Basis to produce reagents such as radiolabeled saxitoxin.
  • Higher purity saxitoxin with greater efficiency that other methods.

Development Stage: Research Material

Inventors: Sherwood Hall

Publications:
Schantz EJ, et al. Paralytic Shellfish Poison. VI. A Procedure for the Isolation and Purification of the Poison from Toxin Clam and Mussel Tissues. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1957, 79, 19, 5230 link

Intellectual Property: • Research Tool- Patent protection was not pursued for this technology

Product Area:  Food safety, saxitoxin, reagent

FDA Reference No: E-2009-010

Licensing Contact:
FDA Technology Transfer Program
Email: FDAInventionlicensing@fda.hhs.gov 

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