The Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B (SEB) protein can be identified quite easily using immunological methods. Highly-sensitive rapid detection
systems - or lateral flow assays - are readily available on the market that can identify SEB (limit of detection = < 10 ppb or < 10 ng/ml) in the space of 20 minutes
(manufacturer: Tetracore, USA). These types of assay are designed primarily to handle aqueous solutions and swab samples. The ELISA kit, which is also readily available on the
market (manufacturer: R-Biopharm, Germany), can screen for the presence of a range of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin serotypes in food. Besides immunological methods such as the ELISA
Sandwich (microtiter plate with 96 wells) or multiplex systems (X-Map Luminex Technology, BioPlex 200 by Bio-Rad;
Pauly et al., 2009), traditional laboratory analyses also involve the use of other protocols like
mass spectrometry (peptide map;
Kull et al., 2010).
In military circles SEB is better known as an "incapacitating agent". Tiny amounts can cause acute poisoning, which completely incapacitates the
victim within a short space of time. However, such cases are seldom fatal.
Pinchuk, I., Beswick, E., Reyes, V. Staphylococcal Enterotoxins. Toxins 2010, 2(8), 2177-2197.
Gill, M., Bacterial Toxins: a Table of Lethal Amounts; Microbiological Reviews, Mar. 1982, 86-94
Pauly, D., Kirchner, S., Stoermann, B.,
Schreiber, T., Kaulfuss, S., Schade, R., Zbinden, R., Avondet, M.A., Dorner, M.B., Dorner, B.G. (2009). Simultaneous quantification of five bacterial and plant toxins from complex
matrices using a multiplexed fluorescent magnetic suspension assay. Analyst 134, 2028–2039.
Kull, S., Kirchner, S., Pauly, D., Stoermann, B., Dorner, M.B., Lasch, P., Naumann, D., Dorner, B.G. (2010). Multiplex detection
of microbial and plant toxins by immunoaffinity enrichment and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Anal. Chem. 82, 2916-24.