Production of antibodies from chicken egg yolk to phenyl- N -methylcarbamate insecticides for analytical purposes

With the aim of developing polyclonal antibodies binding as many phenyl-N-methylcarbamate insecticides (PNMCs) as possible, IgY antibodies were produced in laying hens. Two haptens (3-(2,6-dimethyl-4-(methylcarbamoyl)phenylaminocarbonyl)propanoic acid and 4-((2,6-dimethyl-4-(methylcarbamoyl)phenylaminocarbonyl)-3,3-dimethyl)butanoic acid) were synthesized preserving the major structural features of PNMCs, by a novel synthetic pathway. These haptens differed only in the spacer arm incorporated. Immunizing antigen and coating antigen were prepared by coupling the first hapten with bovine serum albumin and the second with thyroglobulin, from porcine thyroid glands, respectively. The titre and maturation increase in the developed antibodies, in the egg yolk, were assessed by non-competitive ELISA. Avidity and cross-reactivity of the antibodies with selected pesticides were estimated by means of competitive ELISA. The produced IgYs exhibited a high binding capacity to carbaryl, trimethacarb, metolcarb, aminocarb, and promecarb. These antibodies can be used for immunosorbent preparation for analytical purposes.