The poisonous snake bite affects 2.5 million people, killing more than 100,000 people each year and causing 400,000 permanent physical and mental trauma each year. Researchers at the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases Report now describe a new approach to treating snake bites that uses nanoparticles to bind to venom toxins and prevent venom from spreading through the body.

The standard treatment for snake bites is intravenous injection of IgG immune molecules that recognize venom. However, this anti-venom serum therapy must be rapidly administered by trained medical personnel to be effective and highly specific to a particular venom. People have always needed snake bite treatment, which can be used in rural environments and against the bites of various snakes.

In a new job, Kenneth Shea, UC Irvine, and colleagues designed nanoparticle- binding and isolated arrays of snake venom found in phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and three-finger toxin (3FTX) molecules in the cobra . The Elapidae family is a large family of snakes , including cobras, kraits, tiger snakes, sea snakes, coral snakes and manbass. The researchers tested the ability of nanoparticles to block the venom of cobra glasses (black-necked cobra) in mice that received different doses of nanoparticles into the skin . The snake's poison in sub-Saharan Africa caused severe skin necrosis and could cause permanent tissue damage to the victim.

In experiments on isolated cells, nanoparticles were found to isolate a wide variety of Elapidae PLA and 3FTX venoms. In addition, together with José María Gutiérrez, collaborator of Instituto Clodomiro Picado (Universidad de Costa Rica), experiments with mice have shown that injection of nanoparticles at the venom injection site can significantly reduce the typical necrotic effects of spit cobras - including vesicles and ulcer venom . Nanoparticles applied to mice that did not receive venom had no effect on the skin and did not induce systemic toxicity.

"Stable, low-cost nanoparticles are likely to be injected subcutaneously immediately after bite by this spitting cobra to prevent or reduce the extent of local damage and reduce the distribution of systemic toxins after poisoning," the researchers said.

Further exploration: high-tech breakthrough in snake bite anti-venom serum

For more information: O'Brien J, Lee SH, Gutiérrez JM, Shea KJ (2018) engineered nanoparticles bind snake venom toxin and inhibit venom-induced skin necrosis. PLOS neglected tropical disease 12 (10): e0006736. Doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006736