Methods
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Collecting
We are constantly looking for new material, harvesting spiders throughout the United States and acquiring animals from other collectors and importers and dealers.
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Breeding
Most of our spiders are obtained through in-house captive breeding.
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Milking
Numerous techniques have been developed for obtaining venoms from spiders, scorpions and insects. Most of these use electrostimulation of anesthetized animals to improve productivity and keep costs down as well as numerous safeguards to prevent contamination.
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Gland Extractions
Dissected glands and extracts are rarely used for collecting venoms anymore but they are still used for mRNA extractions.
These are usually done to client specifications and may be timed for better mRNA yields. Alternately, clients may obtain live animals for their own dissections.
Bioassays
Injection assays can be done on request against a few types of insects and spiders.
Purifications
Purified venoms are not available at the moment but please inquire if you need assistance in this area. We have experience with this and may be setting up a peptide purification laboratory in the future. In the meanwhile, we would be happy to suggest other labs (e.g. Atheris) that have considerable expertise in toxin purification.