Generation of anti-trenbolone monoclonal antibody and establishment of an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of trenbolone in animal tissues, feed and urine

Trenbolone (TRE) is a steroid used by veterinarians on livestock to increase appetite and body weight. The use of TRE has been restricted because of its harmful side effect for consumers. To effectively control TRE residue in food and food product, a rapid and convenient immunoassay was developed by preparing an anti-TRE monoclonal antibody. The immunogen and coating antigen were prepared by coupling TRE hapten with carrier proteins via 1-ethyl-3-(dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) method. The optimized method gave an average IC₅₀ value of 0.323 ng mL⁻¹ towards TRE and an average detection limit (LOD) of 0.06 ng mL⁻¹, which is much lower than the maximum residue levels (2.0 ng g⁻¹) accepted by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The specificity of the antibody was evaluated by measuring cross-reactivity of six structurally related compounds, including 19-nortestosterone (9.7%), testosterone (0.13%), methyltestosterone (<0.01%), methandrostenolone (<0.01%), (+)-dehydroisoandrosterone (<0.001%) and β-estradiol (<0.001%). The recovery rates of the test in detection of TRE-fortified animal tissue, urine and animal feed samples were in the range of 81.3-89.4%, while the intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were less than 12.0%.     

Production of monoclonal antibodies against hop-derived (Humulus lupulus L.) prenylflavonoids and the development of immunoassays

Monoclonal antibodies against the hop-derived prenylated chalcone xanthohumol (X) and the prenylated flavonoids isoxanthohumol (IX) and 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN) were developed. Carboxylic acid haptens of X, IX and 8-PN were synthesized by linking a spacer to their C4′-OH group followed by subsequent coupling to bovine serum albumin (BSA) to form conjugates that were employed as immunogens in BALB/c mice to raise antibodies. The monoclonal antibodies that were secreted from the established hybridoma cell lines proved, in cross-reactivity studies, to possess highly specific binding capacities in an optimized competitive indirect ELISA. The immunoassays make use of immunogen-coated microtiterplates and a peroxidase-labeled anti-mouse IgG₁ secondary antibody with ABTS as a chromogenic substrate. For X the IC₅₀ value derived from the standard curve was 62.91 ng mL⁻¹, and for both IX and 8-PN 37.15 ng mL⁻¹. The assay was validated for the quantitative analysis of X, IX and 8-PN in urine and serum. A simple sample pretreatment procedure using a diethyl ether extraction was optimized and the recoveries and matrix effects were assessed. The validity of the established assay was tested and mean inter- and intra-assay variations in urine were 2.32% and 1.91%, respectively for X, 6.24% and 2.39%, respectively for IX and 7.18% and 0.74%, respectively for 8-PN. In serum, the mean inter- and intra-assay variations were 8.90% and 1.37%, respectively for X, 6.13% and 1.57%, respectively for IX and 6.13% and 2.43%, respectively for 8-PN. Furthermore, the method demonstrated excellent accuracy and significant correlation with measurements by an established and validated HPLC-MS method.     

Development of an immunoassay and a sol-gel-based immunoaffinity cleanup method for coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls from soil and sediment samples

Two polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed using goat PCB purified immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies (Abs). The IgGs exhibited the highest affinity toward PCB-77 (24 ng mL⁻¹) with sensitivities in the range of 6-11 ng mL⁻¹. The Abs cross-reacted with PCB-126 and the heptachlorodibenzofuran 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF but not with PCB-169, PCB-118, Aroclor 1232, 1248, 1260 or the hexachlorodibenzofuran 2,3,4,6,7,8-HxCDF. The IgGs were also used to develop a sol-gel-based immunoaffinity purification (IAP) method for cleanup of PCB-126. Recovery efficiencies depended on the sol-gel formats; a 1:12 format resulted in the highest binding capacity. Net binding capacity ranged from 112 to 257 ng, and 90% of the analyte could be eluted with only 2 mL of ethanol. The method was also very efficient in purifying PCB-126 from spiked soil and sediment samples from contaminated sites; and eliminating matrix interferences to a degree that enabled analysis of the purified samples by ELISA. The approaches developed in the course of the study form a basis for the development of additional IAP methods for other PCBs, and their implementation in high-throughput screening programs for PCB in food, soil, and other environmental and biological samples.     

Review on recent and advanced applications of monoliths and related porous polymer gels in micro-fluidic devices

This review critically summarises recent novel and advanced achievements in the application of monolithic materials and related porous polymer gels in micro-fluidic devices appearing within the literature over the period of the last 5 years (2005-2010). The range of monolithic materials has developed rapidly over the past decade, with a diverse and highly versatile class of materials now available, with each exhibiting distinct porosities, pore sizes, and a wide variety of surface functionalities. A major advantage of these materials is their ease of preparation in micro-fluidic channels by in situ polymerisation, leading to monolithic materials being increasingly utilised for a larger variety of purposes in micro-fluidic platforms. Applications of porous polymer monoliths, silica-based monoliths and related homogeneous porous polymer gels in the preparation of separation columns, ion-permeable membranes, preconcentrators, extractors, electrospray emitters, micro-valves, electrokinetic pumps, micro-reactors and micro-mixers in micro-fluidic devices are discussed herein. Procedures used in the preparation of monolithic materials in micro-channels, as well as some practical aspects of the micro-fluidic chip fabrication are addressed. Recent analytical/bioanalytical and catalytic applications of the final micro-fluidic devices incorporating monolithic materials are also reviewed.     

Active bead-linked immunoassay on protein microarrays

Protein microarrays are becoming a powerful tool in proteome, biochemical, and clinical studies. In addition to the quality of arrayed immobilized probe molecules, sensitivity of the microarray-based assay is highly dependent on the detection technique. Here we suggest four simple techniques for rapid detection of analytes bound to protein microarrays. The techniques employ functionalized magnetic and non-magnetic beads moved to, from, or along the array surface by external forces. In contrast to other labeling techniques actively controlled physical labels: (i) make detection extremely fast to allow microarray reading in seconds; (ii) provide a low background due to active removal of weakly bound beads; and (iii) provide a highly sensitive detection, since one antigen-antibody bond is capable of holding bead immobilized on the array surface. In combination with the electrophoretically assisted active immunoassay we described recently such active reading allows to reduce total indirect immunoassay time to 7-10 min while having sensitivity in the femtomolar concentration range. High speed, sensitivity, and specificity make active bead-linked detection an ideal choice in rapid high-throughput screening and in emergency diagnostics.