Peptide toxins: structure, stability and engineering

This thesis is an investigation of peptide toxins from animal venom, aimed to determine the utility of the scorpion toxin HsTX1, as well as the conotoxins H_Vc7.1, H_Vc7.2 and contryphan-Vc2. Part of the work includes efforts undertaken to validate the scorpion toxin HsTX1 from the species Heterometrus spinifer as a scaffold structure for peptide engineering by molecular grafting. In addition, the production and biochemical characterisation of recently discovered conotoxins found in the venom duct of the venomous marine snail Conus victoriae are described.