AU2005100064A4

AU2005100064A4 - Device for the detection of clandestine ricin preparations

Info

Publication number: AU2005100064A4
Application number: AU2005100064A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Christian James Loane
Original assignee: CHRISTIAN LOANE
Current assignee: Loane Christian James Mr
Priority date: 2005-01-26
Filing date: 2005-01-26
Publication date: 2005-05-19
Anticipated expiration: 2013-01-26

Description

DESCRIPTION

Ricin is a complex protien, extracted from the castor bean or from the ?wet mash? by-product produced by crushing and extracting castor oil from Ricinus Communis. The annual world production of castor oil is 460,000 tons, requiring over 1.1 million tons of seeds and producing 550,000 tons of wet mash. Five percent by weight of the wet mash is ricin. Ricin is 1000 times more poisonous than cyanide, 30 times more potent than the nerve agent VX and 7 times more deadly than cobra venom. It is estimated 1 gram of pure ricin has the potential to kill 36,000 people. In its pure form, an amount no bigger than a grain sand can kill an adult. Ricin can be either a white powder or a colorless, tasteless solution. It is soluble in water, can be aerosolized, and is stable in soil or in the environment for upto three days.

Clandestine ricin extracts also contain the alkaloid Ricinine, a natural biomarker for the presence of the ricin protein.

Ricin threats, real and hoax, cause major disruptions both economically and socially. Biothreat test kits (Osborn Scientific, Alexeter Products, NewHorizons Diag.) and prior art literature detection have drawbacks providing either highly specific and costly immunoassay based technology and highly complex, slow laboratory procedures, extraction, chemical derivatisation, instrumental analysis GC/MS, HPLC/MS).

It would be desirable to have a simple, cheap, single-step, mass produced test device for the presumptive identification of rinin or ricinine, using stabilised protein, alkaloid and nitrile detection reagents.

This invention has been specifically devised to meet such a need, providing a device for first response teams, to determine the potential of a suspicious residue containing both ricin and ricinine.

Disclosed are innovative steps of formulating dry reagent chemicals, moisture UV retarding chemicals and detergent chemicals into a cheap and simple ricin or ricinine single step colorimetric spot test.

In accordance with this invention the device may be manufactured by milling together and homogenising all dry reagents and moisture UV retarding chemicals and detergents to form a fine powder and either pressing said powder into desired article shape tablet) or suspending said powder in a non-aqueous solvent chloroform) which is capable of dissolving the moisture UV retarding chemicals, dipping a solid support paper, plastic, wood) into said liquid suspension, removing solid support and drying, thus producing a dry reagent coated article. The final article needs to retain a smooth, durable, solid surface which can be rubbed with sample swab facilitating colorimetric indications. All chemicals are chosen to enhance sensitivity and shelf life viability, reduce porosity between individual reagent particles, reduce moisture UV degradation and simplify manufacture and end use, while reducing device cost.

In accordance with this invention, the device comprises a simple cotton swab (pre-packaged dry or pre-wetted with water or alcohol) used to collect suspicious residue (solid or liquid) and rubbed onto surface of said device, facilitating a colorimetric indication.

Additionally, inert detergent chemicals may be admixed to said dry reagent formulation to aid mixing of collected sample with dry reagents. This is achieved by lysing and solubilising plant residues allowing interaction with device dry reagents. This is well documented in detergent chemistry.

Claims

1. A dry, moisture UV protected, hand held, in-situ, ricin or ricinine presumptive colorimetric n detection device, which contains only dry reagents, protected against degradation by encapsulation (Ni within moisture UV protective coat, manufactured as a pressed article tablet) or dry coated solid support paper, palstic, wood), with dry and/or wetted (water and/or alcohol) swab (e.g. cotton, rayon) which collects suspicious residues (solid or liquid), transferring said residue to said O device reactive surface and rubbing, which fascilitates mixing of residue sample and dry reagents O producing a presumptive colorimetric indication for ricnin or ricinine, in a ?single-step?. O

2. A dry, moisture UV protected, hand held, in-situ, ricin or ricinine presumptive colorimetric detection device as claimed in 1, wherein the inert moisture UV retarding dry chemicals and mixing aids may be selected from, but not limited to; solid long-chain fatty acids and their salts, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, anhydrous sodium sulphate, zinc oxide, octylmethoxycinnamate, butylmethoxybenzoylmethane, octylsalicylate, sodium lauryl sulphate, and be present in the amount of 70-99%

3. A dry, moisture UV protected, hand held, in-situ, ricin or ricinine presumptive colorimetric detection device as claimed in land 2, wherein the dry reagents for colorimetric detection of ricin may be selected from, but not limited to; sodium bisulphate, ammonium bisulphate, trichloroacetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, oxalic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, ammonium chloride, dimethylaminobenzaldehyde, diethylaminobenzaldehyde, dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde, ninhydrin, bradford, lowery and BCA/biuret reagents, safranine, methylene violet, crystal violet, acid black and be present in the amount of 1 30%

4. A dry, moisture UV protected, hand held, in-situ, ricin or ricinine presumptive colorimetric detection device as claimed in 1- 3, wherein the dry reagents for colorimetric detection of ricinine may be selected from, but not limited to; nesslers reagent, steyn test, fiegl-anger test, ferrous sulphate, hydroxylammonium (N03, S04, Cl) salts, sodium hydroxide and univeral pH indicator, iodine/potassium iodide, dragendorf reagent, potassium iodine plateate, sodium tetraphenylboron, cobalt thiocyanate, chloroamine-T, dimethylaminobenzaldehyde, diethylaminobenzaldehyde, dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde, cerium (IV) sulphate, sodium bisulphate, ammonium cerium (IV) sulphate, p-hydroxydiphenyl. 4 A dry, moisture UV protected, hand held, in-situ ricin or ricinine presumptive colorimetric detection device as claimed in 1- 4, wherein all dry materials are milled together to produce a fine homogenous powder which may be pressed into any shape or article tablet) or suspended in any non-aqueous solvent chloroform), which is capable of solubilising only the moisture UV retarding dry chemicals, and coated onto any solid support structure paper, cotton, plastic, wood), producing a final article which provides a solid, smooth, durable reactive surface upon which a swab cotton, rayon, dry and/or pre-wetted with alcohol and/or water) containing the suspicious residue may be applied and rubbed, exposing the dry reagents and mixing dry reagents with suspicious residue, facilitating a colorimetric indication in a single-step.