title: Detection of ricin contamination in ground beef by electrochemiluminescence immunosorbent assay.
abstract: Ricin is a highly toxic protein present in the seeds of Ricinus communis (castor), grown principally as a source of high quality industrial lubricant and as an ornamental. Because ricin has been used for intentional poisoning in the past and could be used to contaminate food, there is a need for analytical methodology to detect ricin in food matrices. A monoclonal antibody-based method was developed for detecting and quantifying ricin in ground beef, a complex, fatty matrix. The limit of detection was 0.5 ng/g for the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) method and 1.5 ng/g for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The detection of nanogram per gram quantities of ricin spiked into retail samples of ground beef provides approximately 10,000-fold greater sensitivity than required to detect a toxic dose of ricin (>1 mg) in a 100 g sample.
authors: Foodborne Contaminants Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA. david.brandon@ars.usda.gov
authors: David L
authors: DL
authors: Brandon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000032:analysis; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods*; D002367:Ricinus communis / Q000737:chemistry; D002417:Cattle; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D007164:Immunosorbents; D016014:Linear Models; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012276:Ricin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007164:Immunosorbents; D012276:Ricin