4 ms·
I once bought some pure botulinum toxin for an experiment (it blocks the release of acetyl choline at neuromuscular junctions). I want to say it was a milligram
by stenl 5y ago
I once bought some pure botulinum toxin for an experiment (it blocks the release of acetyl choline at neuromuscular junctions). I want to say it was a milligram, but I don’t remember (that would have been 1000 times the lethal dose by inhalation). We had to get special export permission from the US government.
When the tiny vial arrived in a very large multilayered package, I sat down and read the Materials Safety Datasheet and contemplated the implications. I then decided never to open the package. We stored it under a big hollow block of concrete until the hazardous waste disposal people could figure out what to do with it.
- float4 5y agoHow much money does something like that cost? Sounds expensive.
- stenl 5y agoIt’s just a protein, so it’s not very expensive to make. I guess a few hundred dollars? Here’s one seller: https://listlabs.com/products/bacterial-toxins/?sub=botulinum-toxins https://listlabs.com/products/bacterial-toxins/?sub=botulinu...
- el_oni 5y agoI've done similar with a chemical that was "fatal on inhalation, fatal on skin contact, fatal on ingestion" i dont think its been opened and its sitting in the lab to this day.
- eutectic 5y agoWhat was it?
- el_oni 5y agoDicyclohexyl carbodiimine. I used the liquid diisopropyl carbodiimine for 2 years but i wasnt keen on using such a toxic powder
- refurb 5y agoI once ordered NaK, a sodium-potassium alloy that looks like mercury, but will catch fire if exposed to the air. It’s like potassium metal but worse because it’s liquid. I bought some for a project in the lab, then just disposed of it. Wasn’t worth the risk and found an alternative.
- rootsudo 5y agoWow, and to think most university labs will just give it away if you know hot to ask.