Sammendrag
Microcystins (MCs) are a group of biotoxins
(>150) produced by cyanoba
cteria, with a worldwide
distribution. MCs are hepatotoxic, and acute exposure causes
severe liver damage in humans and animals. Rapid and cheap
methods of analysis are therefore required to protect people and
livestock, especially in developing countries. To include as many
MCs as possible in a single analysis, we developed a new
competitive ELISA. Ovine polyclonal antibodies were raised
using an immunogen made by conjugating a mixture of
microcystins to cationised bovine serum albumin, and the
plate-coating antigen was prepared by conjugating [Asp
3
]MC-
RY to ovalbumin. This strategy was used also to minimize speci
fi
city for particular microcystin congeners. Cross-reactivity studies
indicate that the ELISA has broad speci
fi
city to microcystins and also detects nodularin, providing a sensitive and rapid analytical
method for screening large numbers of samples. The limit of quantitation for microcystins in drinking water is 0.04
μ
g/L, well
below the WHO
’
s maximum recommendation of 1
μ
g/L. The ELISA can be used for quantifying total microcystins in various
matrices, including drinking water, cyanobacterial cultures, extracts, and algal blooms, and may be useful in detecting metabolites
and conjugates of MCs.
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