Fluorometric lateral flow immunoassay for simultaneous determination of three mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, zearalenone and deoxynivalenol) using quantum dot microbeads.

A fluorometric lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) is described for the simultaneous determination of the mycotoxins aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZEN) and deoxynivalenol (DON). The method is based on the use of CdSe/SiO2 quantum dot microbeads (QBs) with a mean diameter of 106 nm. These have strong red luminescence (with excitation/emission peaks at 365/622 nm) which results in enhanced sensitivity. The QBs binding with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as the signal probes can react specifically with AFB1, ZEN and DON, respectively. There is an inverse correlation between the fluorescence signal intensity of test line and the analyte content, which can realize the quantitative analysis of analytes within 15 min. The limits of detection in solution are 10, 80 and 500 pg mL-1 for AFB1, ZEN and DON, respectively. Besides, the average recoveries from spiked feed range from 85.5 to 119.0%, and the relative standard deviations are less than 16.4% for both intra- and inter-day assays. The method was used to analyze naturally contaminated feedstuff, and this resulted in a good agreement with data obtained by LC-MS/MS. Graphical abstractSchematic representation of a fluorometric method for the simultaneous determination of three mycotoxins. Quantum dot microbeads (QBs) binding with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are signal probes. There is an inverse correlation between the fluorescence intensity of test line and the analyte concentration.