First report of a direct surface plasmon resonance immunosensor for a small molecule seafood toxin

Tetrodotoxin (TTX), a small molecular weight neurotoxin, is responsible for poisoning events that traditionally occur from consumption of contaminated puffer fish. Recent studies have shown a growing number of foods contaminated with TTX and a larger number of waters and associated countries where the toxin may occur. The apparent expanding prevalence of TTX supports a growing need for screening assays that can be used to detect potentially harmful food. In the past few years, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors have been developed for rapid, robust detection of TTX; however, these assays focus on detection of unbound antibody from an inhibition reaction with the toxin. This manuscript introduces the first direct immunoassay for a seafood toxin, specifically TTX. Major advantages of this assay compared to indirect assays include increased speed of analysis, decreased use of biological reagents, and improved confidence in the detection of the toxin, along with the ability to characterize the antibody/toxin interaction. The analytical method introduced in this paper could be applied to other seafood toxins, as well as to a wide range of low molecular weight targets.