Development of surface plasmon resonance-based immunoassay for aflatoxin B(1)

Area of Science:

• Food safety
• Analytical chemistry
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Aflatoxins are toxic fungal metabolites contaminating food and feed.
• Accurate detection methods are crucial for food safety.
• Existing methods for aflatoxin B(1) detection face challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a stable and regenerable surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based immunoassay for aflatoxin B(1).
• To overcome challenges in antibody regeneration for aflatoxin B(1) detection.

Main Methods:

• Immobilization of an aflatoxin B(1)-bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugate on a SPR sensor surface.
• Development of a competitive inhibition immunoassay format.
• Testing of various regeneration solutions for antibody removal.
• Production and characterization of a regenerable polyclonal anti-aflatoxin B(1) antibody.

Main Results:

• High-affinity binding of antibodies initially hindered sensor regeneration.
• A novel regeneration solution (1 M ethanolamine with 20% acetonitrile, pH 12.0) effectively regenerated the antibody without damaging the conjugate.
• The developed immunoassay demonstrated a linear detection range of 3.0-98.0 ng mL(-1).
• The assay exhibited good reproducibility.

Conclusions:

• A regenerable polyclonal antibody and a specific organic regeneration solution enabled a robust SPR-based immunoassay for aflatoxin B(1).
• This method offers a promising approach for sensitive and repeatable detection of aflatoxin B(1) in food and feed samples.
• The developed immunoassay contributes to enhanced food safety monitoring.