Specific antigen‐based and emerging detection technologies of mycotoxins

Abstract

Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites produced by certain types of filamentous fungi or molds, such as Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, and Alternaria spp. Mycotoxins are natural contaminants of agricultural commodities, and their prevalence may increase due to global warming. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approximately 25% of the world's food crops are annually contaminated with mycotoxins. Mycotoxin‐contaminated food and feed pose a high risk to both human and animal health. For instance, they possess carcinogenic, immunosuppressive, hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic, and neurotoxic effects. Hence, various approaches have been used to assess and control mycotoxin contamination. Significant challenges still exist because of the complex heterogeneous nature of food and feed composition. The potential of antigen‐based approaches, such as enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, flow injection immunoassay, chemiluminescence immunoassay, lateral flow immunoassay, and flow‐through immunoassay, would contribute to our understanding about mycotoxins' rapid identification, their isolation, and the basic principles of the detection technologies. Additionally, we address other emerging technologies of potential application in the detection of mycotoxins. The data included in this review focus on basic principles and results of the detection technologies and would be useful as benchmark information for future research. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Recent Advances in Mycotoxin Analysis and Detection of Mycotoxigenic Fungi in Grapes and Derived Products

“…ELISAs are performed in microtiter plates or well strips and are based on the combination of antibody specificity with the sensitivity of simple enzyme assays for the determination of the analytes of interest. ELISAs are the most common validated immunochemical methods used to monitor mycotoxins, with advantages regarding high specificity, a relatively low limit of detection (LOD), high sample throughput, and certain limitations related to matrix nature complexity [133]. Among the several ELISA types that are currently available, the predominant forms used are the classical competitive and competitive inhibition formats, which perform better when detecting low molecular weight molecules with limited epitope site display, as mycotoxins are [134,135].…”

Mycotoxins in Pistachios (Pistacia vera L.): Methods for Determination, Occurrence, Decontamination

“…To increase the lifetime and the amplitude of the signal, a substance known as an "enhancer" (for example, 4-iodophenol) is added to the reaction medium. At the end of an immunoenzymatic experiment, this luminous reaction can be used to detect antigen-antibody binding [110].…”

Ultrasensitive monitoring strategy of PCR‐like levels for zearalenone contamination based DNA barcode

“…Zearalenone (ZEN), belonging to the secondary metabolites from Fusarium species, became one of the three main mycotoxins, along with aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) and deoxynivalenol (DON), as a result of their high detection rates and contaminated levels in recent years 1–3 . In the carcinogenic classification, ZEN has been categorized as grade III 4 .…”