Biological Toxins as the Potential Tools for Bioterrorism.

ABSTRACT: Biological toxins are a heterogeneous group produced by living organisms. One dictionary defines them as "Chemicals produced by living organisms that have toxic properties for another organism". Toxins are very attractive to terrorists for use in acts of bioterrorism. The first reason is that many biological toxins can be obtained very easily. Simple bacterial culturing systems and extraction equipment dedicated to plant toxins are cheap and easily available, and can even be constructed at home. Many toxins affect the nervous systems of mammals by interfering with the transmission of nerve impulses, which gives them their high potential in bioterrorist attacks. Others are responsible for blockage of main cellular metabolism, causing cellular death. Moreover, most toxins act very quickly an

SUBMITTER: Janik E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6429496 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature