Development of a sensitive polyclonal antibody-based competitive indirect ELISA for determination of citrinin in...

A sensitive competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ciELISA) was developed for the detection and quantification of citrinin (CIT) in grain-based food samples. The limit of quantification (IC₂₀) of the established method was 0.10 ± 0.02 ng mL^-1, with the limit of detection (IC₁₀) being 0.04 ± 0.007 ng mL^-1 in wheat and corn flour matrices with a coefficient of variation (CV) less than 20%. The assay was very specific to CIT and showed no cross-reactivity with other mycotoxins (OTA, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, DON, patulin and zearalenone). In spiked wheat and corn flours, the recoveries ranged from 86.6% to 115.6% with CVs of less than 20%. The effectiveness of this method was verified by participating in a proficiency test (PT) from the Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS) 17181 corn flour. A successful z-score (-0.6) for this PT sample showed that the present method is comparable to the instrumental methods used by other laboratories in the PT testing scheme. A small survey of grain-based foods was conducted using this method and CIT was detected in 43% of the samples up to a concentration of 17.7 ng g^-1. This method is suitable for sensitive and rapid quantitation of citrinin in wheat and corn matrices.