Development of a rapid and versatile method of enzyme-linked immunoassay combined with immunoaffinity column for aflatoxin analysis

Abstract

We combined immunoaffinity column (IAC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods to develop a rapid method to analyze total aflatoxin (AF) in foods, using a large number of samples. Using newly developed monoclonal antibodies, with high cross-reactivity and high organic solvent tolerance, we developed the IAC-ELISA method. Our IAC-ELISA method showed a good correlation with the high-performance liquid chromatography method for corn samples spiked with total AF. Certain food samples, such as chili powder, chocolate, green coffee beans, and roasted coffee beans, are difficult to measure owing to their matrices, which affect ELISA adversely. Our IAC-ELISA method clearly improved the recovery rates (79 to 109%) compared with the ELISA method (97 to 164%) for four food samples. Our method is simple and quick; thus, it may be ideal for routine inspections.