Determination of aflatoxin B1 in corn, wheat, and peanut butter by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and solid phase radioimmunoassay.

Abstract

Determinations of aflatoxin B1 in corn, wheat, and peanut butter by an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and a solid-phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) were compared. Samples spiked with 2.9-43.2 ppb B1 were subjected to AOAC extraction procedure 26.017 or 26.023. The extracts were concentrated, redissolved in methanol, diluted in phosphate-buffered saline with Tween 20, and directly analyzed for B1 by either ELISA or RIA. At 5.8 ppb or greater, recoveries for B1 in corn, wheat, and peanut butter samples were 80.0, 86.6, and 94.8% by ELISA and 61.0, 93.3, and 110.0% by RIA, respectively. Recoveries greater than 120% were obtained for the wheat and peanut butter samples spiked with 2.9 ppb aflatoxin B1 by the RIA method but not by ELISA. Overall results indicated that ELISA gave more consistent data, relatively lower standard deviations, and lower coefficients of variation than did RIA. Analysis of 3 samples naturally contaminated with aflatoxins revealed that the ELISA data were comparable to those obtained by other established chemical methods.