Development of a sensitive ELISA for the determination of fumonisin B(1) in cereals

Monoclonal fumonisin B(1) antibodies with high titer were raised by using FB(1)-glutaraldehyde-keyhole limpet hemocyanin immunogen prepared by a short cross-linker reagent (glutaraldehyde). Mean cross-reactivities of the selected monoclonal antibody for FB(1), FB(2), and FB(3) were 100, 91.8, and 209%, respectively; no reactivity was found with hydrolyzed fumonisin. A direct, competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the quantitative determination of FB(1) in cereals has been developed with this antibody. Fifty percent acetonitrile-based solvent with some additives was used for extraction of cereals, and the diluted extracts were used without cleanup in the test. The mean within-assay and interassay coefficients of variation for the standard curve were <10%. The measuring range of this test is 10-500 ng/g, with a detection limit of 7.6 ng/g FB(1). The toxin recovery from cereals infected with 50-200 ng/g of FB(1) varied between 61 and 84%. According to the comparable results of naturally infected maize samples, this test proved to be suitable for the rapid screening of food and feed samples for the presence of FBs.