Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ginosko!ctrsol!cica!iuvax!mailrus!ames!amdahl!amdcad!military
From: eesnyder@ncar.UCAR.EDU (Eric E. Snyder)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: mycotoxines
Message-ID: <26823@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Date: 18 Aug 89 04:24:14 GMT
References: <26805@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Lines: 41
Approved: military@amdcad.amd.com



From: eesnyder@ncar.UCAR.EDU (Eric E. Snyder)
In article <26805@amdcad.AMD.COM> KSEPYML%TUDRVA.TUDELFT.NL@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU writes:
>I am interested in the use of mycotoxines in biological warfare. Especially,
>some info on mycotoxines obtained from the 'fusarium-family'.

I am aware of
at least one reference on the use of nivalenol (T-2 toxin derivative from
_Fusarium tricinctum_) in Southeast Asia:  Wade, N. Science 214: 34 (1981).

>Alos, some general info would be appreciated. How difficult is it to obtain
>these substances, what laws prohibit selling these etc. etc.

Mycotoxins are not difficult to obtain.  In the US, there is no special
regulation of these compounds for use in research.  T-2 and other 
trichlothecenes are available from Sigma Chemical Company (St. Louis, MO),
for example, 25 mg T-2 Toxin for $107.20.  Now 25 mg is not much but these
substances are so unbelievably toxic, it does not take much!  Aflatoxin and
derivatives are also available and in somewhat larger quantities. 

I first learned of these compounds from a package incert from Sigma
_advertising_ the availability of trichothecenes!

>I need this info for an article concerning the attempts of the Iran Government
>to buy the raw materials for producing these mycotoxines.

Trichothecenes are chemically quite complex.  It would probably be easier to
grow _Fusarium_ mold in deep culture and extract the toxins chromatographically.
Aflatoxins are not so difficult.  A friend of my in the chemistry dept at
Johns Hopkins was working on a biomimetic synthesis of aflatoxins as an
undergraduate!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
AAGGTGCAATGATGAGGAATTTTATCGTAGTTATGAATAATCCTGCAAGAGGTGCAAAACCCAGAGTACCTCA
Eric E. Snyder
Department of Molecular,              I thought it was rain for a minute;
 Cellular and Developmental Biology   I thought the game had been called.
University of Colorado, Boulder
TTCCACGTTACTACTCCTTAAAATAGCATCAATACTTATTAGGACGTTCTCCACGTTTTGGGTCTCATGGAGT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------