With the basic idea in place, the next step was to put together a research proposal and settle on a specific direction.
Soji went out of his way to consult fellow medical professionals, and soon learned from his colleagues that the Sand Ninja currently relied mostly on potent biological toxins.
Compared with viral and bacterial weapons, which could reproduce themselves, biological toxins had more complex and varied biological activity, and their pathological effects differed from one another.
Take the most common example: snake venom.
A toxic protein containing various enzymes and polypeptides, snake venom was generally a slightly fishy-smelling, egg-white-like viscous liquid under natural conditions. Its main components included various types of toxins, such as cytotoxins, neurotoxins, and myotoxins.
That was why hospitals generally treated casualties suffering from snake venom by injecting them with the corresponding antiserum.
"I see. Then what exactly is the principle by which snake antivenom works?"
With his notebook in hand, Soji continued questioning the doctor he knew.
Thanks to the connections he had gradually built over the previous year, the doctor had no intention of hoarding even basic medical knowledge.
"Antibodies in the serum bind to the toxic proteins in snake venom, causing them to quickly denature and become inactive. Naturally, they can no longer harm the body."
"An antigen-antibody reaction... Then how is snake antivenom usually made?"
"A tiny number of highly skilled medical ninja can synthesize specific serums directly using special techniques. But in most cases, Konoha Hospital extracts them from animals. After the test animals receive multiple small injections of venom, they develop antibodies. Those antibodies are then extracted and purified to produce the main ingredient in snake antivenom."
The doctor explaining things to Soji paused, then pulled an old copy of Introduction to Basic Toxicology from his medical kit and handed