Current Advances in Immunoassays for the Detection of β₂-Agonists

β₂-agonists are a group of synthetic phenylethanolamine compounds which are traditionally used for treating bronchospasm. These compounds can also increase skeletal muscle mass and decrease body fat. The illegal use of β₂-agonists in food-producing animals results in residue of β₂-agonists in edible tissues and causes adverse health effects in humans. Thus, the detection of β₂-agonists at trace level in complex sample matrices is of great importance for monitoring the abuse of β₂-agonists. Many methods have been developed to detect β₂-agonists. Among them, a variety of antigen-antibody interaction-based techniques have been established to detect β₂-agonists in various samples, including animal feed, urine, serum, milk, tissues and hair. In this review, we summarized current achievement in the extraction of β₂-agonists from testing samples and detection of β₂-agonists using immunological techniques. Future perspectives were briefly discussed.