one-step core/multishell quantum dots-based fluoroimmunoassay for screening of deoxynivalenol in maize

Deoxynivalenol (don) is a protein synthesis inhibitor produced by the fusarium species, which frequently contaminates grains used for human or animal consumption, thereby necessitating their effective monitoring and control. antibody-based immunoassays provide efficient and cheap methods for screening this mycotoxin. to achieve high sensitivity and avoid enzymatic reaction, a new highly sensitive monoclonal antibody (mab) and a fluorescent probe consisting of amino-functionalized core/multishell quantum dots (qds), cdse/cds/cd0.5zn0.5s/zns, bio conjugated to 3-hs-don-bsa were prepared; then, a sensitive and reliable direct competitive fluorescent-labeled immunosorbent assay (dcflisa) was developed. under optimized conditions, the 50% inhibition concentration (ic50) value of the dcflisa was 5.6 μg/kg with limit of detection of 12.2 μg/kg in maize samples. the recoveries ranged from 77.3 to 84.3% with coefficients of variation (cv%) values below 10%. good correlation between the dcflisa and hplc-ms/ms results in the naturally contaminated maize demonstrated that the dcflisa was a rapid and sensitive with high-performance and reliable method for the detection of don. the potential of this method to function as a simple and efficient strategy for small molecule on-site screening might be applied in the future.