Massive Immuno Multiresidue Screening of Water Pollutants

Central Chirality and Axial Chirality Recognition of the Enantioselective Antibodies to Herbicide Metolachlor

Enantioselective antibodies have emerged as efficient tools in the field of chiral chemical detection and separation. However, it is complicated to obtain a highly stereoselective antibody due to the unclear recognition mechanism. In this study, the hapten of metolachlor was synthesized and enantio-separated. The absolute configuration of the four haptens obtained was identified by the computed and experimental electronic circular dichroism comparison. Five polyclonal antibodies against the Rac-metolachlor and its enantiomers were generated by immunization. The cross-activity of all the 5 antibodies with 44 structural analogues, including metolachlor enantiomers, was tested. It demonstrated that antibodies have higher specificity to recognize central chirality than axial chirality. Especially, αRR-MET-Ab exhibited excellent specificity and stereoselectivity. Accordingly, 3D-QSAR models were constructed and revealed that paired stereoisomers exhibited opposite interactions with the antibodies. It is the first time that the antibodies against four stereoisomers were prepared and analyzed, which will be conducive to the rational design of the stereoselective antibodies.

Simultaneous and ultrasensitive detection of three pesticides using a surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral flow assay test strip

Chlorothalonil (CHL), imidacloprid (IMI) and oxyfluorfen (OXY) are commonly used in combination to increase crop yield. However, these three pesticides are toxic to aquatic organisms and do not easily degrade. In this study, a surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral flow assay (SERS-LFA) test strip was prepared by combining antibodies with SERS nanotags, and then competitive immune binding was used to detect the three pesticides simultaneously. Moreover, the two-way binding effect of ssDNA-streptavidin bound to Ag^4-NTP@AuNPs and Ag^4-NTP@AuNPs with antibodies was used to further amplify the detection signal. Under the optimal conditions, the SERS-LFA test strips exhibited high sensitivity, a low detection limit, short detection time, high specificity and low cost. Furthermore, the detection range was within the values prescribed by international detection standards. By measuring the intensity of the SERS signal on the test line of the paper strip, accurate quantitative analysis was achieved. The practical application of the proposed system was demonstrated by simultaneous detection of CHL, IMI and OXY in environmental and food samples with satisfactory results.

Rapid and sensitive detection of diazinon in food based on the FRET between rare-earth doped upconversion nanoparticles and graphene oxide

Diazinon is a typical phosphorothionate, which is widely used to prevent and control harmful organisms that endanger the agriculture productions. However, it is among the most toxic substances and can cause damage to the environment, food and human health even in very low concentrations. Hence, ultra-sensitive screening methods are urgently required for the detection of this extensively used pesticide. In this study, a rapid and sensitive fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) method was developed for low concentration detection of diazinon in food. The aptamer-modified upconversion nanoparticles (Apt-UCNPs) were synthesized and conjugated with graphene oxide (GO) through π-π interaction. Due to the FRET between UCNPs and GO, the fluorescence was quenched. When diazinon was added, the aptamer preferentially bound with it, caused the separation of GO, and resulted in the enhancement of fluorescent signal. Under the optimal conditions, a wide linear detection range from 0.05 to 500 ng/mL was achieved, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.023 ng/mL. The proposed method was successfully applied to measure diazinon in real samples. Results showed that the proposed nanosensor offers an efficient, specific and simple approach for the detection of diazinon in food and has a high potential for food safety and quality control.

Neo-antigens for the serological diagnosis of IgE-mediated drug allergic reactions to antibiotics cephalosporin, carbapenem and monobactam

New antigens deriving from -lloyl and -llanyl, major and minor determinants, respectively, were produced for β-lactam antibiotics cefuroxime, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, meropenem and aztreonam. Twenty β-lactam antigens were produced using human serum albumin and histone H1 as carrier proteins. Antigens were tested by multiplex in vitro immunoassays and evaluated based on the detection of specific IgG and IgE in the serum samples. Both major and minor determinants were appropriate antigens for detecting specific anti-β-lactam IgG in immunised rabbit sera. In a cohort of 37 allergic patients, we observed that only the minor determinants (-llanyl antigens) were suitable for determining specific anti-β-lactam IgE antibodies with high sensitivity (< 0.01 IU/mL; 24 ng/L) and specificity (100%). These findings reveal that not only the haptenisation of β-lactam antibiotics renders improved molecular recognition events when the 4-member β-lactam ring remains unmodified, but also may contribute to develop promising minor antigens suitable for detecting specific IgE-mediated allergic reactions. This will facilitate the development of sensitive and selective multiplexed in vitro tests for drug-allergy diagnoses to antibiotics cephalosporin, carbapenem and monobactam.

Multifunctional Polystyrene Core/Silica Shell Microparticles with Antifouling Properties for Bead-Based Multiplexed and Quantitative Analysis

Commercial bead-based assays are commonly built upon polystyrene particles. The polymeric carrier can be encoded with organic dyes and has ideal material properties for cytometric applications such as low density and high refractive index. However, functional groups are conventionally integrated during polymerization and subsequent modification is limited to the reactivity of those groups. Additionally, polystyrene as the core material leads to many hydrophobic areas still being present on the beads' surfaces even after functionalization, rendering the particles prone to nonspecific adsorption during an application. The latter calls for several washing steps and the use of additives in (bio)analytical assays. In this contribution, we show how these limitations can be overcome by using monodisperse polystyrene (PS) core/silica (SiO₂) shell particles (SiO₂@PS). Two different hydrophobic BODIPY (boron-dipyrromethene) dyes were encapsulated inside a poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) -stabilized polystyrene core in different concentrations to create 5-plex arrays in two separate detection channels of a cytometer. A subsequent modification of the silica shell with an equimolar APTES/PEGS (aminopropyltriethoxysilane/polyethylene glycol silane) blend added multifunctional properties to the hybrid core/shell microparticles in a single step: APTES provides amino groups for the attachment of a caffeine derivative (as a hapten) to create antigen-coupled microspheres; the PEG moiety effectively suppresses nonspecific binding of antibodies, endowing the surface with antifouling properties. The particles were applied in a competitive fluorescence immunoassay in suspension, and a highly selective wash-free assay for the detection of caffeine in beverages was developed as a proof of concept.

Bispecific Monoclonal Antibody-Based Multianalyte ELISA for Furaltadone Metabolite, Malachite Green, and Leucomalachite Green in Aquatic Products

A new multianalyte immunoassay was designed to screen furaltadone metabolite 5-morpholinomethyl-3-amino-2-oxazolidone (AMOZ), malachite green (MG), and leucomalachite green (LMG) in aquatic products using a bispecific monoclonal antibody (BsMAb). Gradient drug mutagenesis methods were separately used to prepare an anti-3-nitrobenzaldehyde-derivatized AMOZ (3-NPAMOZ) hybridoma cell line that was hypoxanthine-guanine-phosphoribosyltransferase (HGRPT) deficient and an anti-LMG hybridoma cell line that was thymidine kinase (TK) deficient. BsMAb recognizing 3-NPAMOZ and LMG was generated using hybrid-hybridomas of HGRPT and TK deficient cell lines. For AMOZ and LMG, respectively, the BsMAb-based indirect competitive ELSIA (ic-ELISA) values of 1.7 ng/mL and 45.3 ng/mL and detection limits of 0.2 ng/mL and 4.8 ng/mL. To establish the ic-ELISA, 3-NPAMOZ derivatized from AMOZ with 3-nitrobenzaldehyde and LMG reduced from MG by potassium borohydride was recognized by BsMAb. Recoveries of AMOZ, MG, and LMG in aquatic products were satisfactory and correlated with HPLC analysis. Thus, the multianalyte ic-ELISA is suitable for rapid quantification of AMOZ, MG, and LMG in aquatic products.