Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius)

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  Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius) Abstract Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive compounds including proteins, peptides and enzymes. Although venoms exhibit substantial intraspecific variation, some compounds appear to be species-specific, highlighting their potential as chemotaxonomic markers. Venom mass fingerprints (MFPs) derived from Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been proposed as a means of delimiting species. However, their utility for species delimitation has rarely been evaluated against independent sources of taxonomic evidence. In the present study, the performance of MALDI-TOF MS-based venom peptide barcoding (mass ranges of m/z 800‒4500 and m/z 3000‒10,000) was assessed in 52 populations of eight Italian species of the scorpion genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876, representing different levels of evolutionary divergenc...

Viperid Venom Immunization Using Chitosan Nanoparticles as Immunoadjuvant

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Viperid Venom Immunization Using Chitosan Nanoparticles as Immunoadjuvant

Abstract

Purpose

Viperid venoms are difficult to neutralize; up to 19 antivenom vials may be used for severe snake envenomation, so new adjuvants may improve the efficacy of antivenoms. This work aims to utilize chitosan nanoparticles as an immunoadjuvant for the development of neutralizing antibodies against four viperid venoms from the species Lachesis acrochorda (La), Bothrops asper (Bas), Bothrops ayerbei (Bay), and Bothrops rhombeatus (Br), which are of medical importance in Colombia.

Methods

Chitosan nanoparticles were loaded with four viper venoms and encapsulated via ionic gelation for use as an immunoadjuvant. Chromatography, electron microscopy, polydispersity index, and infrared spectroscopy demonstrated the encapsulation of the venoms.

Results

Rabbit immunizations were conducted using chitosan encapsulated venoms, and they were found qualitatively to be less harmful than the adjuvant control (incomplete Freund’s and aluminum hydroxide as adjuvants).

Conclusions

Although rabbit antibodies obtained with chitosan-venom nanoparticles showed no significant differences in antibody titers (AT50s) compared to the immunization control, they showed slightly better neutralization than the control group. Encapsulating chitosan nanoparticles with viperid venom could be a useful approach and an alternative immunoadjuvant for enhancing neutralizing antibodies.

Ángel-Camilo, K.L., Guerrero-Vargas, J.A., García-Barrera, K.L. et al. Viperid Venom Immunization Using Chitosan Nanoparticles as Immunoadjuvant. Int J Pept Res Ther 32, 69 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10989-026-10843-1