ELISA Based Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type F in Red Meat and Canned Fish

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is the most toxic protein molecule so far known to animals and humans, due to its extreme toxicity, CDC has been listed as category ‘A’ biological warfare agents. In India, there is no commercial detection system available for the detection of botulism. The present study was aimed to develop an ELISA based detection system for botulinum neurotoxin serotype F in red meat and canned fish. Polyclonal antibodies were generated against the recombinant BoNT/F LC protein and IgG was purified. Sandwich ELISA system was successfully optimised with LOD of ~ 7.8 ng/ml in PBS. Similarly, different concentrations of BoNT/F were spiked in red meat and canned fish and extracted the toxin and the LOD was achieved for red meat ~ 62 ng/ml and for canned fish ~ 31 ng/ml. The developed detection system is highly specific. The developed assay will be useful for the screening of botulinum toxins in a large number of food samples. Keyword: BoNTs; Warfare agent; Botulism; Detection; Botulinum toxins Defence Life Science Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, October 2019, pp. 226-230, DOI : 10.14429/dlsj.4.14915 2019, DESIDOC Received : 06 April 2019, Revised : 15 May 2019 Accepted : 18 June 2019, Online published : 21 October 2019