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Production of ultrasensitive antibodies against aflatoxin B1
Author(s) -
Gathumbi,
Usleber,
Märtlbauer
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1472-765x.2001.00914.x
Subject(s) - aflatoxin , biology , antibody , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology
Aims: To produce specific antibodies against the haptenic fungal toxin aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) and apply these antibodies in immunochemical assays for aflatoxins. Methods and Results: Rabbits were immunized using an AFB 1 ‐bovine serum albumin conjugate and serum titres determined by double‐antibody enzyme immunoassay. High titres of antibodies with very high affinity for AFB 1 were obtained 15 and 4 weeks after the initial immunization and the first booster immunization respectively. The antibodies were employed in enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) methods for aflatoxins. With a detection limit of 15·8 pg ml −1 for AFB 1 , the EIA employing these antibodies is the most sensitive test for AFB 1 described so far. In IAC columns, these antibodies provided high binding capacity for all major aflatoxins, including AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 and AFG 2 . Conclusions: The antibodies described here are useful for the analysis of trace levels of aflatoxins. Significance and Impact of the Study: Polyclonal antibody‐based EIA and IAC methods for aflatoxin analysis offer a suitable alternative to the more expensive monoclonal antibody‐based methods.