Feasibility of using a surface plasmon resonance-based biosensor to detect and quantify yessotoxin

Yessotoxin (YTX) is a disulfated polyether toxin produced by marine dinoflagellates. Although there is no clear evidence that YTX is toxic to humans, it is a major cause of false positives in DSP toxin detection by mouse bioassay. We developed a new detection and quantification method for yessotoxin using a BiaCore X Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensor. The assay is based in the interaction of YTX with phosphodiesterase enzymes (PDE), one of its cellular targets. The injection of several YTX concentrations (3-12 mu M) over immobilized PDE I, showed a dose dependent binding signal, which K-obs (observed rate constant) allowed us to obtain a calibration curve with a linear fit. The detection of yessotoxin using SPR-based biosensor allows the quantification of the toxin with an automated and repetitive method at concentrations in the range of the 1 mg kg(-1) European regulatory limit. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.