Purification of the Toxin of Pasteurella Pestis by Continuous-Flow Paper Electrophoresis

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Abstract
Summary: Continuous flow electrochromatography was an effective method for seperating the toxin of Pasteurella pestis from crude extracts. Large amounts of material were processed and a fine degree of fractionation achieved with no evidence of toxin loss. The number of antigens was reduced from 8 to 10 in the crude extract to 3 in the final product. The intravenous LD50 of the purified toxin in the mouse was 0.1 to 0.3 μg as compared to an LD50 of 5 to 15 μg for the crude extract. Toxin from the attenuated strain E.V. 76 behaved similarly in every way tested to the toxin isolated from the highly virulent strain 195/P. The immunogenic properties of purified toxin from virulent and attenuated strains of P. pestis are under investigation.