Automated regenerable microarray-based immunoassay for rapid parallel quantification of mycotoxins in cereals

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Mycotoxin contamination in cereals poses a significant risk to food safety and human health.
• Accurate and rapid detection methods are crucial for regulatory compliance and risk management.
• Existing methods can be time-consuming and require specialized equipment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an automated flow-through multi-mycotoxin immunoassay.
• To utilize a novel microarray and chemiluminescence detection system for parallel mycotoxin analysis.
• To assess the method's performance in cereal matrices within a short timeframe.

Main Methods:

• Development of a reusable biochip with immobilized analytes on functionalized glass slides.
• Implementation of a competitive indirect immunoassay format using chemiluminescence readout.
• Automated sample processing including extraction, filtration, dilution, and immunodetection.

Main Results:

• Achieved parallel detection of aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, and fumonisins in 19 minutes.
• Demonstrated biochip reusability for at least 50 cycles.
• Obtained good agreement with established methods (ELISA, LC-MS) for naturally contaminated samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed automated immunoassay provides a fast, reliable, and reusable tool for multi-mycotoxin detection in cereals.
• This technology can support efficient food safety monitoring and regulatory control.
• Oat extract proved suitable as a matrix for standard preparation across various cereal types.