Trace analysis of pollutants by use of honeybees, immunoassays, and chemiluminescence detection.
Specific and sensitive analysis to reveal and monitor the wide variety of chemical contaminants polluting all environment compartments, feed, and food is urgently required because of the increasing attention devoted to the environment and health protection. Our research group has been involved in monitoring the presence and distribution of agrochemicals by monitoring beehives distributed throughout the area studied. Honeybees have been used both as biosensors, because the pesticides affect their viability, and as "contaminant collectors" for all environmental pollutants. We focused our research on the development of analytical procedures able to reveal and quantify pesticides in different samples but with a special attention to the complex honeybee matrix. Specific extraction and purification procedures have been developed and some are still under optimization. The analytes of interest were determined by gas or liquid chromatographic methods and by compound-specific or group-specific immunoassays in the ELISA format, the analytical performance of which was improved by introducing luminescence detection. The range of chemiluminescent immunoassays developed was extended to include the determination of completely different pollutants, for example explosives, volatile organic compounds (including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes), and components of plastics, for example bisphenol A. An easier and portable format, a lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) was added to the ELISA format to increase application flexibility in these assays. Aspects of the novelty, the specific characteristics, the analytical performance, and possible future development of the different chromatographic and immunological methods are described and discussed.
Department of Metallurgic Sciences, Electrochemistry and Chemical Techniques, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. stefano.girotti@unibo.it
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Girotti
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Ghini
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Maiolini
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Bolelli
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Ferri
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D015386:Hazardous Substances