Development of an immunochromatographic strip for rapid, instrument-free, on-site detection of uranium

Abstract

A one-step assay has been developed for on-site detection of environmental uranium. A monoclonal antibody with specificity for U(VI) complexed to 2,9-dicarboxyl-1,10-phenanthroline (DCP) was conjugated to colloidal gold and subsequently mixed with a sample containing U(VI) and DCP. The mixture was allowed to migrate up a nitrocellulose strip and intensity of the antibody captured at a band of immobilized U(IV)-DCP was inversely proportional to the amount of U(VI) (50–200 nM) in the sample. The strips could be read visually or the images could be captured via a cell phone camera for more quantitative analysis.