Production of ultrasensitive antibodies against aflatoxin B1

AIMS: To produce specific antibodies against the haptenic fungal toxin aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and apply these antibodies in immunochemical assays for aflatoxins. METHODS AND RESULTS: Rabbits were immunized using an AFB1-bovine serum albumin conjugate and serum titres determined by double-antibody enzyme immunoassay. High titres of antibodies with very high affinity for AFB1 were obtained 15 and 4 weeks after the initial immunization and the first booster immunization respectively. The antibodies were employed in enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) methods for aflatoxins. With a detection limit of 15.8 pg ml(-1) for AFB1, the EIA employing these antibodies is the most sensitive test for AFB1 described so far. In IAC columns, these antibodies provided high binding capacity for all major aflatoxins, including AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2. CONCLUSION: The antibodies described here are useful for the analysis of trace levels of aflatoxins. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Polyclonal antibody-based EIA and IAC methods for aflatoxin analysis offer a suitable alternative to the more expensive monoclonal antibody-based methods.