Development of a multi-channel magnetic bead micro-probe assay for high-throughput detection of zearalenone in edible and medicinal Coix seed

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A multi-channel magnetic bead micro-probes assay (MBPA) based on indirect competitive principle was developed for high-throughput detection of zearalenone (ZEA) in edible and medicinal Coix seed. This strategy introduced magnetic beads as the carriers, the specific primary antibodies as the capture probes for targets and the secondary antibodies functionalized goat anti-mouse immunoglobulin G labeled fluorescein isothiocyanate as the fluorescence signal probes. Through the competitive reaction of ZEA in Coix seed samples and that covalently coupled on the surface of MBs with their specific antibodies, as well as fast magnetic separation and sensitive fluorescence detection, the developed MBPA strategy allowed low limit of detection (2.03 ng/mL) with broad dynamic range (2.03–440.67 ng/mL), as well as excellent accuracy with the average recovery rate of 96.39% and relative standard deviation (RSD) of 5.48% for ZEA. 36 samples could realize simultaneous analysis in one operation within less than 20 min only needing 50 μL of solution and 30 s of sampling, avoiding large consumption of time and organic solvents. Multiple centrifugation and cleanup steps were omitted because of magnetic separation, avoiding the loss of targets. Diverse capture and fluorescent probes can be randomly bound onto the surface of MBs, making the MBPA strategy a promising tool for on-site high-throughput monitoring of various trace hazard factors in food safety, and environmental monitoring.