Snake Antivenoms: Performance Comparison of Two Preparation Methods

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Antivenom sera can be prepared by precipitation of hyperimmune equine serum or plasma with ammonium sulfate or caprylic acid. OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of both methods. METHODS: The immunoglobulins were precipitated with ammonium sulfate, and the albumin with caprylic acid. The antibody level in the final preparation was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: The 3% caprylic acid produced a supernatant containing all the antivenom antibodies with only remnants of albumin. The 40% ammonium sulfate precipitated all the antivenom antibodies, but accompanied by some 10% of albumin. CONCLUSIONS: The quantification of antibody level in the final antivenom shows that precipitation with caprylic acid allows to obtain a stronger effect than precipitation with ammonium sulfate.