Polystyrene Microsphere-Based Immunochromatographic Assay for Detection of Aflatoxin B1 in Maize

Aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)), a mycotoxin, is hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, and nephrotoxic in humans and animals, and contaminate a wide range of maize. In this study, an immunochromatographic assay (ICA) based on polystyrene microspheres (PMs) was developed for sensitive and quantitative detection of AFB(1) in maize. The amounts of PMs, the condition for activating carboxyl groups of PMs, the amount of monoclonal antibody (mAb), and the volume of the immune probe were optimized to enhance the performance PMs-ICA for point-of-care testing of AFB(1) in maize. The PMs-ICA showed the cut-off value of 1 ng/mL in phosphate buffer (PB) and 6 mu g/kg in maize samples, respectively. The quantitative limit of detection (qLOD) was 0.27 and 1.43 mu g/kg in PB and maize samples, respectively. The accuracy and precision of the PMs-ICA were evaluated by analysis of spiked maize samples with recoveries of 96.0% to 107.6% with coefficients of variation below 10%. In addition, the reliability of PMs-ICA was confirmed by the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. The results indicated that the PMs-ICA could be used as a sensitive, simple, rapid point-of-care testing of AFB(1) in maize.

Automated summary

An immunochromatographic assay based on PMs was developed for sensitive and quantitative detection of AFB(1) in maize. The method showed good accuracy in both PB and maize samples, and is a simple and rapid point-of-care testing method.