Toxins are molecules produced by living organisms that act as poisons towards other living organisms. Millions of toxins are known, and their side effects towards humans have been documented for centuries. Chemists working in the pharmaceutical industry often study toxins, because it allows them to produce antidotes for incidents of poisoning, and because some toxins can also be used therapeutically. Determining their structure is not an easy task, requiring techniques such as X-ray crystallography (see CHEMISTRY REVIEW, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 16–17).
Clostridium botulinum is a species of bacteria that produces one of the deadliest toxins known to mankind. This botulinum toxin is a protein commonly known by the commercial name Botox. Just a few nanograms (1 ng = 1 × 10–9 g) of the toxin would be enough to kill a human. Poisoning from this toxin is known as botulism and is normally the result of a C. botulinum infection or of consuming food contaminated with the toxin.
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