Sequential injection chemiluminescence immunoassay for nonionic surfactants by using magnetic microbeads

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APnEOs) are widely used surfactants with potential endocrine-disrupting properties.
• Accurate and rapid detection methods are crucial for monitoring APnEOs in environmental matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sensitive and rapid immunoassay for the determination of APnEOs.
• To utilize sequential injection analysis (SIA) with magnetic microbeads for enhanced assay performance.

Main Methods:

• Construction of an SIA system incorporating a syringe pump, switching valve, and flow-through immunoreaction cell.
• Immobilization of anti-APnEOs monoclonal antibodies onto magnetic microbeads for sample capture and analysis.
• Indirect competitive immunoassay format coupled with chemiluminescence detection using horseradish peroxidase (HRP).

Main Results:

• The developed SIA immunoassay demonstrated high sensitivity with a lower detection limit of approximately 10 ppb.
• Analysis time was significantly reduced to less than 15 minutes per sample.
• The method was successfully validated for the determination of APnEOs in real river water samples.

Conclusions:

• The SIA-based magnetic microbead immunoassay provides a rapid, sensitive, and efficient tool for APnEOs determination.
• This method is suitable for environmental monitoring applications, particularly for water quality assessment.
• The use of magnetic beads simplifies the assay procedure and enhances analytical throughput.