Neurotoxins pose significant challenges in defense and healthcare due to their disruptive effects on nervous tissues. Their extreme potency and enormous structural diversity have hindered the development of effective antidotes. Motivated by the properties of cell membrane-derived nanodiscs, such as their ultrasmall size, disc shape, and inherent cell membrane functions, here, we develop neuronal membrane-derived nanodiscs (denoted "Neuron-NDs") as a countermeasure nanomedicine for broad-spectrum neurotoxin detoxification. We fabricate Neuron-NDs using the plasma membrane of human SH-SY5Y neurons and demonstrate their effectiveness in detoxifying tetrodotoxin (TTX) and botulinum toxin (BoNT), two model toxins with distinct mechanisms of action. Cell-based assays confirm the ability of Neuron-NDs to inhibit TTX-induced ion channel blockage and BoNT-mediated inhibition of synaptic vesicle recycling. In mouse models of TTX and BoNT intoxication, treatment with Neuron-NDs effectively improves survival rates in both therapeutic and preventative settings. Importantly, high-dose administration of Neuron-NDs shows no observable acute toxicity in mice, indicating its safety profile. Overall, our study highlights the facile fabrication of Neuron-NDs and their broad-spectrum detoxification capabilities, offering promising solutions for neurotoxin-related challenges in biodefense and therapeutic applications.
Keywords: biological neutralization; cell membrane; cellular nanodisc; nanomedicine; neurotoxin.