DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENZYME-LINKED-IMMUNOSORBENT-ASSAY FOR TRIAZOLE FUNGICIDES

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for some triazole fungicides was developed using a polyclonal antibody generated against the hemisuccinate of 2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) propanol (DTP) conjugated to bovine serum albumin. In a typical standard curve of DTP the linear range of the test system extended from 10 +/- 0.45 to 1200 +/- 88.50 ng/mL. The commercially important triazole fungicides, tetraconazole and penconazole, gave cross-reactivities of 150 and 140%, respectively, as compared with that of the standard analyte, showing a linear range for detection from 12 to 850 ng/mL. The reactivities of the antibody produced against other fungicides of the triazole family and fungicides containing either an imidazole, a pyrimidine, or a pyridine group instead of the basic moiety of the triazoles have been tested. The results are discussed by comparing the specificity of the assay with the structural properties of the fungicides tested.