An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of diacetoxyscirpenol in wheat and corn.

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for quantitation of diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) in wheat flour and corn meal. Diacetoxyscirpenol was first converted to its "b"-carboxymethoxyl oxime and then conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) via a water-soluble carbodiimide method. This conjugate was then coated to a microtiter plate and incubated with rabbit anti-DAS antibody and sample extract. The amount of anti-DAS antibody bound to the plate was then determined by reaction of goat anti-rabbit IgG-peroxidase complex, and subsequent reaction with substrate. Samples spiked with DAS were extracted with acetone and subjected to a simple cleanup procedure by passing them through a reversed-phase Sep-Pak C-18 cartridge. The minimum detection level for DAS was 5 picograms per assay. Average recoveries from samples of wheat flour spiked with DAS in the 1 - 100 ppb range were 97.5 ± 17.8% for one gram samples, and 97.2 ± 19.9 % for fifty gram samples. Average recoveries from corn meal samples spiked in the same range were 98.8 ± 22.6 % for one gram samples, and 99.7 ± 17.3 % for fifty gram samples.