Development and evaluation of thin-layer chromatography-digital image-based analysis for the quantitation of the botanical pesticide azadirachtin in agricultural matrixes and commercial formulations: comparison with ELISA

A simple thin-layer chromatography-digital image-based analytical method has been developed for the quantitation of the botanical pesticide, azadirachtin. The method was validated by analyzing azadirachtin in the spiked food matrixes and processed commercial pesticide formulations, using acidified vanillin reagent as a postchromatographic derivatizing agent. The separated azadirachtin was clearly identified as a green spot. The Rf value was found to be 0.55, which was similar to that of a reference standard. A standard calibration plot was established using a reference standard, based on the linear regression analysis [r2 = 0.996; y = 371.43 + (634.82)x]. The sensitivity of the method was found to be 0.875 microg azadirachtin. Spiking studies conducted at the 1 ppm (microg/g) level in various agricultural matrixes, such as brinjal, tomato, coffee, and cotton seeds, revealed the recoveries of azadirachtin in the range of 67-92%. Azadirachtin content of commercial neem formulations analyzed by the method was in the range of 190-1825 ppm (microg/mL). Further, the present method was compared with an immunoanalytical method enzyme-linked immonosorbent assay developed earlier in our laboratory. Statistical comparison of the 2 methods, using Fischer's F-test, indicated no significant difference in variance, suggesting that both methods are comparable.     

Preparation of Anti-Lomefloxacin Antibody and Development of an Indirect Competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of Lomefloxacin Residue in Milk

Lomefloxacin has been increasingly used in veterinary medicine to treat microbial infections. To avoid using a complicated instrumental method to detect lomefloxacin residue in food, a simple and convenient indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method has been developed in this study. The antibody generated from immunogen of bovine serum albumin-lomefloxacin showed high sensitivity toward lomefloxacin with an IC₅₀ value of 0.35 ppb in PBS buffer and was suitable to be used as a screening assay to detect lomefloxacin residue in food products. The ELISA (Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbant Assay) developed in this study was compared with a commercial ELISA kit and significant improvement was achieved in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The antibody prepared showed excellent specificity with certain cross-reactivity with only two drugs including norfloxacin (17.5%) and fleroxacin (8.8%) among commonly used (fluoro)quinolones. The assay measured drug residue in defatted milk spiked with lomefloxacin with an inter-assay coefficient of variation <22.2% and an intra-assay coefficient of variation <18.2%. The average recovery rates at 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 1.0, and 2.0 ppb were in the range of 120–85% for inter-assay and in the range of 113–90% for intra-assay.     

Estimation of Azadirachtin Content in Neem Extracts and Formulations

Abstract

A high performance liquid chromatographic reversed-phase procedure has been developed whereby azadirachtin content can be estimated in crude extracts of neem and in dust formulations of neem. An estimation of the azadirachtin content is achieved through the use of an external azadirachtin standard and valley-to-valley integration. Since azadirachtin seems to be the most potent insect feeding deterrent in these extracts and formulations, its content is a measurement of potency and represents an attempt at standardization.     

Monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for the detection of the organophosphorus insecticide diazinon

Four haptens of the organophosphorus (OP) insecticide diazinon were synthesized to develop enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for this pesticide. One of them was conjugated to KLH to be used as the immunogen for production of monoclonal antibodies. By using the antibodies and a coating antigen, an indirect competitive ELISA was developed, which showed an IC₅₀ of 4.0 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.7 ng/mL. A direct competitive ELISA using an enzyme tracer was also developed, which showed an IC₅₀ of 6.0 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.9 ng/mL. The antibodies in both assays showed negligible cross-reactivity with metabolites of diazinon and other OP pesticides. Recovery of diazinon from fortified lettuce and rice samples was satisfactory except at the fortified concentration of 100 ppb.     

Production of Polyclonal Antibodies for the Detection of Dehydroabietic Acid in Pulp Mill Effluents

Abstract

An enzyme immunoassay for resin acids was developed using polyclonal antibodies raised in rabbits. Dehydroabietic acid (DHA) was chosen as a representative resin acid due to its common occurrence and relatively high concentration and toxicity in pulp effluents. Dehydroabietylamine was conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), respectively. The former was used as the immunogen and the latter as the coating antigen. By indirect ELISA, using the biotin-streptavidin system, antiserum can be diluted to 1:30,000 when the coating antigen was used at a concentration of 25 ng/100μl/well. The 50% inhibition concentration (IC₅₀) and the detection limit were determined as 20.2 ppb and 1.9 ppb, respectively.     

Optimization and validation of an enzyme immunoassay for the insect growth regulator fenoxycarb

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the quantitative detection of the insect growth regulator fenoxycarb. Polyclonal rabbit antisera, raised against protein conjugates of four haptenic derivatives of fenoxycarb, were utilized in immobilized antigen-based, competitive immunoassays. With ELISA systems that were both hapten- and carrier-heterologous, most antiserum titers fell in the range of 1:1000-1:30,000. Assay conditions, including concentrations of antisera and coating antigens, were optimized. The effect of pH, organic solvents, and various blocking agents was also investigated. A hapten-homologous and two hapten-heterologous indirect ELISAs allowed fenoxycarb determination in the range of 0.1-85 ng ml⁻¹ with apparent IC₅₀ values of 1.2-2.8 ng ml⁻¹. Cross-reactivities with a number of compounds (e.g. pesticides of related structure, hapten synthesis intermediates, fenoxycarb metabolite, photodegradation products) were determined, and the assay proved highly selective for fenoxycarb. In particular, no significant interference was found with selected pyrethroid and juvenile hormone analog insecticides, phenoxyacetic acid herbicides, and photodegradation products of fenoxycarb. Using spiked water samples, assay performance was validated by SPME/GC-MS.     

Comparison of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of diethylstilbesterol residues in chicken and liver tissues

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the quantitative detection of the diethylstilbesterol (DES). Polyclonal rabbit antisera, raised against protein conjugate diethylstilbesterol-mono-caroxyl-propyl-ethyl-bovine-serum-albumin (DES-MCPE-BSA), were utilized in immobilized antibody-based and competitive immunoassays. Assay conditions, including concentrations of antisera and horseradish peroxidase, (HRP)-DES, were optimized. The effects of incubation time, surfactant concentration, ionic strength and pH of the medium were also investigated. The typical calibration curve gave an average IC(50) value of 2.4 ng/mL, calibration range from 0.2 to 30.5 ng/mL and a detection limit of 0.07 ng/mL. The specificity of the assay was tested against DES structurally related compounds, and the assay proved highly selective for DES. Assay performance was validated using spiked chicken meat and liver tissue samples. Moreover, it was compared with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The ion pair for quantification of DES was m/z 267.4/251.4, and the linear equation of DES was y = 0.1033x + 0.0126 (r = 0.9960). The two analytical methods can be applied to monitor DES and other steroid residues in foods.     

Immunochemical-based method for detection of hazelnut proteins in processed foods

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to detect hazelnut by using polyclonal antibodies generated against a protein extract of roasted hazelnut. No cross-reactivity was observed in tests against 39 commodities, including many common allergens, tree nuts, and legumes. Hazelnut protein standard solutions at 0.45 ng/mL [inhibition concentration (IC80) of the competitive test] were clearly identified by the ELISA. An extraction and quantification method was developed and optimized for chocolate, cookies, breakfast cereals, and ice cream, major food commodities likely to be cross-contaminated with undeclared hazelnut during food processing. No sample cleanup was required when extracts were diluted 10-fold. Recovery results were generated with blank matrixes spiked at 4 levels from 1 to 10 microg/g hazelnut protein. With the developed extraction and sample handling procedure, hazelnut proteins were recovered at 64-83% from chocolate and at 78-97% from other matrixes. A confirmatory technique was developed with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western transfer. The developed methods were applied to a small market survey of chocolate products and allowed the identification of undeclared hazelnut in these products.     

Development of an Enzyme Immunoassay for the Determination of the Herbicide Metsulfuron-Methyl Based on Chicken Egg Yolk Antibodies

Abstract

The development of an indirect competitive enzyme immunoassay for the sulfonylurea herbicide metsulfuron-methyl (MSM) is described. In contrast to traditional antibody generation in mammals, this extremely sensitive method is based on chicken egg yolk antibodies (IgY). They were raised in laying hens using an MSM-derivative-BSA hapten as immunogen. With a 1:10000 dilution of the antibody solution and a coating antigen (MSM-derivative-KLH) concentration of 10 μg L^?1 the IC₅₀ value achieved for the target analyte was 0.4 μg L^?1. The least detectable dose was established at 13 ng L^?1. Cross-reactivity was tested with 5 structurally related compounds, where only sulfometuron showed a significant binding. The ELISA was tested with spiked tap and surface water samples. This paper, for the first time, demonstrates the production of high-affinity IgY antibodies for a herbicide compound.     

Effect of hapten structures on specific and sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for N-methylcarbamate insecticide metolcarb

Five different haptens of the N-methylcarbamate insecticide metolcarb were designed and synthesized. All of the haptens were conjugated with ovalbumin (OVA) for the coating antigen, and one hapten containing all of the structure of metolcarb was conjugated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) for the immunogen. Two polyclonal antisera were raised against the BSA conjugate, and ten antibody/coating conjugate combinations were selected for studies of assay sensitivity and specificity for metolcarb. A class-specific combination was found, with the I₅₀ of the assay ranged from 0.64 to 20.98 μg mL⁻¹ for seven tested N-methylcarbamate insecticides except for pirimicarb. Considering titer, I₅₀ and cross-reactivity of all combinations of antibody/coating conjugate, a competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in a homologous system, whose limit of detection (LoD) reached 1.4 ng mL⁻¹, was presented. The results of competitive ELISAs indicated that coating hapten structure can significantly affect not only assay sensitivity but also its specificity.     

Determination of Iprodione,Vinclozolin, and Procymidone as the Heptafluorobutyramides of 3,5-Dichloroaniline

Abstract

A method was developed for the determination of three fungicides in foods based on alkaline degradation to 3,5-dichloroaniline, isolation of the latter by steam distillation and measurement of the heptafluorobutyrate by gas chromatography. Recoveries averaged 91% from several commodities spiked at from 10–80ppb. The minimum detectable limit of 2.6ppb was attainable in grape, with similar limits found in strawberry, tomato and beans. The method was capable of determining degradation products formed as a result of cooking.     

Hapten synthesis, monoclonal antibody generation, and development of competitive immunoassays for the analysis of picoxystrobin in beer

This paper describes the original synthesis of a functionalized derivative of the fungicide picoxystrobin and the generation of the first reported monoclonal antibodies against this strobilurin pesticide. The synthetic hapten was prepared by total synthesis from commercial chemicals and incorporating the spacer arm through a carbon-carbon single bond. Also, to obtain the immunogen, an uncommon hapten activation strategy based on N,N'-disuccinimidyl carbonate was employed, affording high activation yields and clean and reproducible coupling results. With these immunoreagents, two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed: a competitive one-step assay using the antibody-coated direct ELISA format and a competitive two-step assay with the conjugate-coated indirect ELISA procedure. Both immunoassays were characterized in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, tolerance to solvents and matrix effects, achieving limits of detection below 0.2 μgL(-1). The optimized assays were used for the determination of picoxystrobin residues in beer, with recovery values ranging between 90 and 121% for the direct assay and from 79 to 122% for the indirect assay.     

抗酮洛芬多克隆抗体的制备及其间接竞争ELISA检测方法的建立

分别将酮洛芬与牛血清白蛋白(BSA)及卵清蛋白(OVA)偶联制得免疫原和包被原,经过免疫新西兰白兔制备多克隆抗体,抗体经纯化后效价为1:128000。使用自制的抗体,建立了测定酮洛芬的间接竞争酶联免疫吸附(ic-ELISA)新方法。ic-ELISA的线性范围为0.010～10.0μg/L,IC50为0.235μg/L,最低检测限为0.0040μg/L,线性回归方程为y=-22.97ρ+104.5(R2=0.980),与布洛芬、双氯酚酸的交叉反应率均小于4%,方法可用于水体中酮洛芬的检测。     

Preparation of highly specific anti-zearalenone antibodies by using the cationic protein conjugate and development of an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Although anti-zearalenone (ZEN) antibodies have been widely prepared, these antibodies cross-react with α-zearalenol (α-ZOL), β-zearalenol (β-ZOL), zearalanone (ZAN), α-zearalanol (α-ZAL) and β-zearalanol (β-ZAL). To overcome this problem and improve the specificity of immunoassays, we produced anti-ZEN antibodies based on a ZEN-cationic protein conjugate. In this study, ZEN was coupled with cationic bovine serum albumin (cBSA) via a Mannich reaction. After BALB/c mice were immunized with ZEN-cBSA, an immunological response was rapidly induced. The titers of the polyclonal antisera and monoclonal antibody were 30,000 and 20,000, respectively. Cross-reactivity (CR) values of the anti-ZEN polyclonal antisera and monoclonal antibody with the 5 analogs were <7% and <2%, respectively. An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on the monoclonal anti-ZEN antibody was established. The recovery rates of ZEN in spiked cereal and feed were in the range of 80%-120% with coefficients of variation <15%. The intra-assay variation and inter-assay variation in assay buffer were both <5%. Therefore, the results demonstrated a feasible approach for preparing highly specific, higher titer and more rapidly induced antibodies against ZEN by using a ZEN-cBSA conjugate as the immunogen instead of currently used immunogens.     

孔雀石绿单克隆抗体制备和酶联免疫检测方法的建立

针对孔雀石绿三苯环特征结构,设计合成1种高质量半抗原。通过偶联载体蛋白、动物免疫和细胞融合,制备出一株高质量的单克隆抗体MG-DA4-C7,亚类为IgG1,轻链为κ型。通过对包被原浓度、抗体浓度、二抗浓度的优化,建立了孔雀石绿间接竞争酶联免疫分析方法。方法半抑制浓度( IC50)为0.96μg/L,线性检测范围(IC20~C80)为0.1~8.1μg/L,LOD(IC10)为0.05μg/L,回归方程y=-0.3274lgx+0.4698(R2=0.9891)。本方法特异性高,与代谢物隐孔雀石绿交叉反应小于0.1％,与结晶紫、灿烂绿交叉反应率分别为18.1％和26.5％;实际样品添加回收率为87.3％~107.3％。本方法测定结果经HPLC-MS/MS方法确证,二者相关系数达0.999。本方法可用于鱼类等水产品中孔雀石绿残留的实际检测。     

噻虫嗪单克隆抗体制备及酶联免疫吸附分析方法的建立

通过化学修饰合成了噻虫嗪人工半抗原,采用碳二亚胺法将该半抗原与牛血清蛋白(BSA)和卵清蛋白(OVA)偶联,成功制备了分子结合比合理的免疫原和包被原。经过免疫原免疫6周龄Balb/c小鼠、PEG介导免疫鼠脾细胞和骨髓瘤细胞的融合和阳性杂交瘤细胞的筛选和克隆化,获得了效价高达1∶6.4×105的抗噻虫嗪单克隆抗体,抗体亚类为IgG1型。优化了ELISA实验条件,建立了基于单克隆抗体技术的噻虫嗪残留间接竞争ELISA方法。本方法的抑制中浓度(IC50)为0.0255mg/L,检测灵敏度(IC20)为0.0022mg/L,检出限(IC10)为0.001mg/L。除噻虫胺外,该抗体与其它噻虫嗪结构类似物无交叉反应。以自来水为基质的噻虫嗪添加回收实验显示,0.01,0.5和10.0mg/L添加水平的回收率均大于75%,且各添加水平重复测定8次的相对标准偏差均小于8%,说明所建立的间接竞争ELISA准确度高,重复性好,适合水中噻虫嗪残留的检测。     

A Monoclonal Antibody-Based Indirect Competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the Determination of Olaquindox in Animal Feed

A reliable indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on a new specific monoclonal antibody was developed to determine olaquindox in animal feed. The influence of several physicochemical factors (nonfat dried milk solution, organic solvent, incubation time) on the immunoassay was investigated. In the optimized system, the 50% inhibition concentration was 9.66 ± 1.81 µ g L^?1. The limits of detection for porcine, chicken, and fish feed were 0.28, 0.46, and 0.48 µg kg^?1. The limits of quantification were 1.00 µg kg^?1 for the feed samples. The recoveries from porcine, chicken, and fish feed spiked with olaquindox were 90–104%, 77–103%, and 78–107%, respectively, with coefficients of variation (CVs) between 3.8 and 14.1%. The cross-reactivity was less than 2.08% with four structurally related compounds and no recognition of five other restricted or forbidden drugs was observed. Parallel analysis of the three spiked feed samples showed comparable results between the indirect competitive ELISA and the standard high-performance liquid chromatography method in China (R² = 0.9985 for porcine feed, R² = 0.9896 for chicken feed, and R² = 0.9987 for fish feed). These data suggest that the developed indirect competitive ELISA is a specific and convenient method and is suitable for olaquindox determination in animal feed.     

Detection of hazelnut in foods using ELISA: challenges related to the detectability in processed foodstuffs

Hazelnuts are widely used nowadays, and can pose a serious threat to allergic consumers due to cross-contamination that may occur during processing. This might lead to the presence of hidden hazelnut in foods. Therefore, reliable tests are needed to detect hazelnut, especially in processed foods. A hazelnut-specific indirect competitive ELISA based on polyclonal chicken antibodies was developed. The polyclonal antibodies were raised against modified hazelnut proteins in order to improve the detectability of hazelnut proteins in processed foods. The assay showed a detection limit of 1.36 microg hazelnut protein/mL of 5 mM urea in phosphate-buffered saline buffer (pH 7.4). Limited cross-reactivity with walnut and pecan nut was observed; no cross-reactivity was observed with other food ingredients. Blank cookies spiked before analysis showed recoveries of 73-107%. However, cookies spiked before baking showed that the detectability was severely decreased. Addition of lactose to the cookies, which led to more severe modification through the Maillard reaction, led to an increase in the detectability. These results indicate that using antibodies developed toward allergens modified through food processing-simulating reactions is a better approach for detection.     

Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for toosendanin

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed by using polyclonal antibody for toosendanin (TSN), a biopesticide from Melai toosendan Sieb. et Zucc. Their application in the determination of this analyte in spiked cabbage, tomato and apple samples was studied. The haptens, 28-hemisuccinyl-TSN (TSN-S) and 28-hemiglutaryl-TSN (TSN-G) were synthesized by using esterification. Immunogen and coating antigen were synthesized by using the mixed anhydride reaction and active ester protocol, respectively. Rabbits were immunized with TSN-G-BSA and TSN-S-BSA. Using the selected antibody and coating antigen, an indirect competitive ELISA for TSN was developed, which showed an IC(50) value of 1.023 microg mL(-1), with a detection limit of 0.009 microg mL(-1). A direct competitive ELISA using an enzyme tracer was also developed. The assay showed an IC(50) value of 0.840 microg mL(-1) with a detection limit of 0.014 microg mL(-1). Both assays displayed high cross-reactivity to a closely structurally related compound. Recoveries of TSN from both immunoassays of fortified samples ranged from 76.4% to 113.2% and 75.1% to 132.3%, respectively. Linear regression analysis showed good correlation between the TSN concentrations derived from ELISA and HPLC analyses, which suggested that the ELISA is a convenient supplementary analytical tool for monitoring TSN.     

Determination of 19-nortestosterone residues in aquaculture tissues by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and comparison with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

19-Nortestosterone (17β-NT) was oximated by carboxymethoxylamine and then coupled with bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a mixed-anhydride reaction in order to produce an antibody. The conjugate rate of 17β-NT and BSA was estimated to be 24 by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Polyclonal antibody of 17β-NT was acquired from the animal immunized with the conjugate. Through an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which demonstrated that the synthesis of immunogen was successful, the titre of antiserum was found to be 6.4?×?10⁵. Based on the purified antibody, a competitive indirect ELISA was developed. ELISA revealed that the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.07?ng?g^?1, the recovery (in edible tissues) was 71–89%, and the working range was 0.05–31.25?ng?g^?1. The preliminary evaluation of assay performance through specificity, sensitivity, precision, and accuracy revealed that this ELISA method could be used in the practical detection of 17β-NT in tissue samples. Moreover, this method was compared with high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, for which the transition for quantification of 17β-NT was 275.4/109.1.