A Rapid Immunochromatographic Method Based on Gold Nanoparticles for the Determination of Imidacloprid on Fruits and Vegetables
Steven Suryoprabowo, Aihong Wu, Liqiang Liu, Hua Kuang, Chuanlai Xu, Lingling Guo
Abstract
Imidacloprid (IMP) is toxic and a potential carcinogen that is most widely used as an insecticide for pest control and seed treatment. It is important to produce a rapid and sensitive assay for on-site monitoring. We have developed a novel lateral flow assay (LFA) using a sensitive monoclonal antibody (mAb) for monitoring IMP residues on fruits and vegetables. The 50% inhibition concentration result that was found when using the ELISA method was 0.247 ng mL−1, with the cut-off limits using the LFA method the result was 10 ng mL−1 (0.01 M PBS), and in the samples it was 20 ng mL−1 (with a recovery rate of 96–104.7% for Chinese cabbage, cowpea, apple, and pear samples, respectively). All of the results can be determined within seven minutes. The proposed LFA method is a valid, quick, and stable assay for the on-site detection of IMP in large numbers of samples.