title: Development and application of monoclonal antibodies against the mycotoxin mycophenolic acid.
abstract: Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is frequently found, often in high concentrations, in a broad range of food and feed matrices. Apart from the well-known contamination of blue-veined cheeses caused by the use of toxinogenic Penicillium roqueforti strains for manufacturing, a broad range of other Penicillium spp. is able to produce this immunosuppressive toxin. Therefore, MPA has been proposed to be a suitable marker for Penicillium-infected food commodities. In the present work, a high-affinity monoclonal antibody (mAb) for the specific detection of MPA was developed by immunizing mice with a MPA-protein conjugate coupled by an activated ester method. Under the conditions of a direct competitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA), 50% inhibition and detection limits of MPA standard curves were 1.2 and 0.3 ng/ml, respectively. Furthermore, the mAb could be successfully employed for the production of an immunoaffinity (IA) column enabling the efficient enrichment of MPA from processed foodstuffs. By combining the IA clean-up with a polyclonal antibody-based EIA, an ultrasensitive analysis method could be established which allowed the reliable and reproducible detection of MPA in artificially contaminated tomato ketchup as a model matrix at concentrations as low as 0.1 ng/g.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München, Schönleutnerstraße 8, 85764, Oberschleißheim, Germany. R.Dietrich@mh.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München, Schönleutnerstraße 8, 85764, Oberschleißheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Märtlbauer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D009183:Mycotoxins; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid
keywords: Enzyme immunoassay; Food; Immunoaffinity columns; Monoclonal antibodies; Mycophenolic acid