Isolation and immunochemical properties of burn toxin.

Human skin and the skin of some laboratory animals was minced, scalded and homogenized. The preparation from scalded human skin (the "crude burn toxin") revealed to be highly toxic to mice after i.v. administration. It was found by immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis, that the urea and buthanol extracts of the crude "toxin" contain tissue antigens which were absent in a control preparation from a native (non scalded) skin.