Detecting toxins
In this activity, students explore the processes scientists used to analyse and identify the toxic substance responsible for dog deaths on Auckland beaches.
Identifying the toxin
Paul McNabb of the Cawthron Institute in Nelson describes how scientists identified the toxin in the sea slug that was responsible for the death of some dogs on Auckland beaches. Paul explains how they used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to pinpoint the exact toxin.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
identify a given toxin using known chemical structures
explain what a molecular formula is
explain in simple terms how liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) can be used to detect toxins
show an understanding of the concept of LD50.
Download the Word file for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
student handouts.
Related content
For more information about marine toxins, read the following articles:
TOXINZ is the National Poisons Centre’s database of toxic compounds. Find out about the life-saving resource in this Kiwi Innovation Network Limited video.
