High-sensitive flow-based kinetic exclusion assay for okadaic acid assessment in shellfish samples

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biosensing Technology
• Food Safety

Background:

• Shellfish contamination with okadaic acid (OA) poses a significant human health risk.
• Existing regulatory analysis methods for OA have limitations.
• Development of rapid and reliable detection methods is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and compare different immunosensors for okadaic acid (OA) analysis.
• To evaluate sensitivity, precision, ease of use, and matrix effects of developed immunosensors.
• To identify superior immunosensing strategies for OA detection in shellfish.

Main Methods:

• Development of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based immunosensor.
• Development of a flow-immunosensing system utilizing kinetic exclusion measurements.
• Quantification of OA in spiked mussel and scallop samples.
• Comparison of analytical performance characteristics including limits of detection and recovery rates.

Main Results:

• The SPR-based immunosensor quantified OA in mussel samples near the regulatory limit but showed significant matrix effects.
• The flow-immunosensing system achieved a very low limit of detection (IC70=0.03 microg L(-1)) with minimal matrix effects.
• The kinetic exclusion-based system demonstrated high sensitivity, precision, and simplicity for OA detection.

Conclusions:

• Flow-immunosensing systems based on kinetic exclusion are highly effective for rapid and continuous screening of OA in shellfish.
• These biosensing systems overcome limitations of reference methods and offer improved performance for toxin detection.
• The developed immunosensors contribute to enhanced food safety by enabling reliable shellfish contamination monitoring.