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Natural Toxins: The Past and the Present

  • Conference paper
Defense against Bioterror

Part of the book series: NATO Security through Science Series ((NAPS))

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Abstract

Different bacteria, viruses and toxins constitute a potential menace for people. The number of toxins that could be applied for a bioterrorist attack with real public health risk, though, is relatively limited. However, these natural toxins could cause difficult troubles. The objective of this paper is focused on the toxins of various origins that might be used as a biological weapon. To be used in such a way the toxin should be highly lethal and easily produced in large quantities. Our current knowledge on natural toxins is conducive to select the toxin list threatening public health. At present this list includes a few bacterial and plant toxins, as well as a set of toxins produced by algae and molds. Novel methods of toxin detection should be able to monitor the presence of many toxins at the same time.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 16/10, Moscow, 117997, Russia

    E. Grishin (Deputy Director of Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov)

Authors
  1. E. Grishin
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Engineering Research & Applications, New Mexico Tech, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Dennis Morrison  & Dmitri Ivnitski  & 

  2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA

    Fred Milanovich

  3. The Boeing Company, USA

    Thomas R. Austin

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© 2005 Springer

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Grishin, E. (2005). Natural Toxins: The Past and the Present. In: Morrison, D., Milanovich, F., Ivnitski, D., Austin, T.R. (eds) Defense against Bioterror. NATO Security through Science Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3384-2_2

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