Saporin is a ribosome-inactivating protein, molecular weight 30kD, from seeds of the plant Saponaria officinalis.

Effective Tool

• Use as a control in experiments with targeted saporin immunotoxins or ligand toxins
• Safe for laboratory use under normal safety conditions
• LD50 in mice is 4 mg/kg
• Saporin does not have a method of cell entry on its own

Sample Protocol

For most targeted toxins, there are control conjugates available (see list); these are the most accurate controls to use. For a few products, saporin is used as control. Calculate amount of saporin needed on a molar basis. For example, FGF-SAP (Cat. #IT-38) has an average mol. wt. of 63 kDa, and 71% of that is saporin (approximately 1.5 molecules of saporin per molecule of cytokine). For injections of 5 µg of immunotoxin, an appropriate control quantity would be 3.6 µg.

Check out these articles in Targeting Trends for more information. Jul-Aug-Sep 2005 - Targeting Talk: Saporin Safety Oct-Nov-Dec 2004 - Targeting Talk: Effective Toxins Jul-Aug-Sep 2004 - Discovery of Saporin, continued July 2001 - Targeting Tools: Saporin: a ribosome-inactivating protein