Detection of cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) in maize by immunoassay

Cyclopiazonic acid (α-CPA) is a tremorgenic mycotoxin that is commonly produced by certain species of the aspergilli, in particular Aspergillus flavus, which is more widely known for production of the aflatoxins. Despite the fact that α-CPA may co-occur with aflatoxins, immunoassay-based methods for monitoring for CPA have not been widely developed. We report the development and evaluation of several monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for α-CPA. Two mAbs in particular were very sensitive, with IC₅₀s of 1.1 and 1 ng/mL (clones 1418 and 1231, respectively). Tolerances to aqueous methanol or acetonitrile were good, which permitted the development of an antigen-immobilized competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CI-ELISA) for detection of CPA in maize. Spiked or naturally contaminated maize, extracted with aqueous methanol, was diluted with buffer for analysis. The working range for the assay (IC₂₀ to IC₈₀) was from 5 to 28 μg/kg. Recoveries from maize spiked over the range from 2 to 50 μg/kg averaged 88.6 ± 12.6%. Twenty-eight samples of maize were tested by both the CI-ELISA and a liquid chromatography-fluorescence (LC-FLD) method. For the five samples above the limits of quantitation of both methods, CI-ELISA tended to overestimate CPA content, a difference that we speculate may be due to related metabolites or perhaps "masked" derivatives of CPA. The antibodies developed and the resulting CI-ELISA will be useful tools for further evaluation of the prevalence of this mycotoxin in maize.