CHEMISTRY OF PUFFER FISH TOXIN

Abstract

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is well known as the puffer fish toxin. Naturally occurring analogs of TTX have been isolated from puffer fish, newts and frogs, and their structures have been determined by spectroscopic methods. Additionally, TTX analogs have been prepared by chemical modification to investigate its binding site on sodium channels and the structure-activity relationship of TTX. In this article, the NMR data of TTX analogs are listed, and the chemical modification methods for preparation of TTX probes are summarized.