Molecular and immunochemical characteristics of monoclonal and recombinant antibodies selective for the triazine herbicide simetryn and application to environmental analysis

A monoclonal antibody (mab) selective for the thiomethyl-s-triazine herbicide simetryn was obtained and characterized in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). An IC(50) value for simetryn was 8.5 ng/mL, and the detection range extended from 1.1 to 70 ng/mL in ELISA. The cDNAs encoding variable heavy chain (VH) and variable light chain (VL) of the mab were cloned to produce various recombinant antibodies. Single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies derived from the mab were characterized in ELISA and showed similar reactivities and specificities to the parent mab. A urea denaturation test revealed that the scFv antibodies bound to simetryn were more stable than those in the absence of antigen. A sandwich ELISA based on VH and VL fragments of the mab was successfully developed and showed similar sensitivity to those based on the mab and scFv antibodies in ELISA. In the recovery experiments using spiked environmental samples, the results obtained in ELISA based on the mab were favorably correlated with those by HPLC.