Immunoassays for aflatoxins

Immunoassays for aflatoxin analysis have been regarded as valuable supplements to existing and rapidly developing chromatographic techniques. We describe six types of aflatoxin immunogens and their characteristics, reported antibodies against aflatoxins, traditional and novel labeled materials for assay signaling, three immunoassay formats, assay devices (e.g., microtiter plate and reader, lateral flow strip, electronic and optical immunosensors, and a rapid tester dedicated to aflatoxins) and applications of immunoassay in agricultural products. We show trends towards sensitivity, simplification, intelligence and portability. After setting out five challenges in developing immunoassays, we predict that techniques involving novel nanoparticle labels and non-competitive assay may become the main trends in research and that immunoassay devices will be used in many fields. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.