Colloidal gold-based immunochromatographic test strip for rapid detection of abrin in food samples

In the present study, we developed a convenient, rapid, and sensitive immunochromatographic (IC) test strip to detect abrin in assay buffer and spiked abrin in test food samples. The abrin IC test strip was based on a sandwich format consisting of a monoclonal antibody and a polyclonal antibody. The anti-abrin A chain monoclonal antibody from mice was immobilized on a porous nitrocellulose membrane as a capture antibody, while the anti-abrin polyclonal antibody from rabbits was conjugated to colloidal gold particles, serving as a detection antibody. Both visual observation and quantitative analysis indicated that the lower detection of the strip was about 3 ng/ml when abrin was directly spiked into milk, orange juice, and drinking water at a concentration of 3 to 60 ng/ml; the analytical recovery rate was 92.2 to 128%. With this method, abrin spiked into food could be detected in less than 10 min. Moreover, the IC test strip showed no cross-reaction with the closely related phytotoxin ricin. Therefore, our test strip is an ideal candidate for the development of a kit for rapid and quantitative detection of abrin in food samples.