November 18, 2016 by Bob Yirka
(Phys.org)—A small team of researchers from
Stanford University has synthesized the neurotoxin present in the skin of the
poison dart frog. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team
describes how they accomplished this feat, the steps involved and what they
found when they also synthesized a mirror image of it.
The poison dart frog has been
known to scientists (and locals who have used its skin chemicals as a poison
applied to the tips of blow-darts, which led to the name of the frog) for many
years and several researchers have attempted to synthesize the batrachotoxin molecule
in the toxin responsible for causing heart attacks in its victims. Until now,
all have failed, and the task has been complicated in recent years due to the
diminishing numbers of the frogs in their native northern Colombian rain
forests. In this new effort, the researchers used data from other studies to
understand the makeup of the molecules, then used what they found to create an
artificial version. The team says the process involved 24 steps and also led to
the synthesis of the toxin's chemical mirror image.
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