Antibody Developments and Immunoassays for Mycotoxins

Food-borne mycotoxins are now recognized as a major cause of food safety issue. Currently, a number of immunochemical methods have been applied to mycotoxin analysis because of their high specificity, facilitate sample preparation, and ease of use. These methods include widely applicable ELISAs, biosensors, and noninstrumental immunoassays. As a rule, immunoassay is based on specific interaction between antigen and antibodies. Aiming at improving the sensitivity and reliability of immunoassays for mycotoxins, researchers have focused their efforts on developing natural (e.g. poly and monoclonal antibodies, antibody fragments, and nanobodies) and artificial antibodies (e.g. aptamers, peptides, and molecular imprinted polymers). Furthermore, researchers also found that the quality of mycotoxin-carrier conjugates is equally essential to the sensitivity and reliability of immunoassays. Recently, various research has been conducted to develop substitutes for mycotoxin conjugates include anti-idiotype antibodies, phage displayed peptides, and anti-idiotype nanobodies. This review will focus on the general aspects of the development of antibody against mycotoxin and the main principles and stages of the development of immunochemical methods for mycotoxins analysis.