Quantitative determination of salbutamol residues using a fluorescence immunochromatography assay

The illegal use of salbutamol (SAL) in livestock leaves residues in animal-derived foods that pose direct health risks to consumers. Given the lack of rapid, on-site quantitative detection methods for SAL, we hypothesized that a fluorescence immunochromatographic assay (FICA) could be developed to achieve the ultrasensitive, specific, and portable detection of SAL residues in animal-derived foods. We successfully established such a FICA, and its sensitivity was 5.0 pg/mL. FICA strips showed high specificity for SAL with low cross-reactivity (except for clenbuterol). The average recoveries of SAL from animal-derived foods (beef, eggs, and milk) ranged from 82.9 % to 91.8 %. Moreover, the results of the FICA method strongly correlated with those of HPLC (Pearson's r = 0.99). These findings support our initial hypothesis that the FICA strips can be directly applied to the on-site, rapid screening of SAL residues in animal-derived foods, providing technical support for food safety supervision.