Production of an efficient enzymatically Fab fragment antivenom against of Cobra snake (Naja naja oxiana) venom

AbstractSince about ۱۰۰ years ago, the best and main treatment for millions of global snakebite victims has been the use of polyclonal antivenoms. However, common antivenoms need continuous improvement to reduce rare, their side effects and get faster performance. In this study, by papain digestion of anti-cobra venom plasma and subsequently multi-step purification and optimization, including, ammonium sulfate precipitation and subsequently DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, Fab antivenom was produced. Then, by SDS-PAGE method, and double immunodifusion (Ouchterlony) tests the existence of the corresponding Fab fragment antibody was seen and confirmed. Also, in potency test in NIH laboratory mice, it was found that each milliliter of the new Fab antivenom was able to neutralize ۶۲۴ micrograms, (۸۰LD۵۰) of cobra venom, which is about ۱۵% more efficient than the primary plasma in the same concentration and also, ۱.۵۷ times more than the cobra antivenom which found in commercial hexavalent antivenom of Razi Institute respectively. According to the results, it seems that this new Fab antivenom can be used as a new candidate for the treatment of cobra snake bite victims.

Keywords:

Fab antivenom , Naja naja Oxiana , DEAE-cellulose , ammonium sulfate , cobra snake