Development of an immunochromatographic assay for the rapid screening of pendimethalin in potato and apple

Abstract

Pendimethalin (PDM), a dinitroaniline group herbicide, is extensively used for controlling weeds in amounts of agricultural crops. In this work, Hapten-1 and Hapten-2 were synthesized for the preparation of an anti-PDM monoclonal antibody (mAb), which was used to establish an indirect competitive ELISA. Based on the anti-PDM mAb, we developed an immunochromatographic assay (ICA) for detection of PDM in potato and apple. Under optimal conditions, the ICA exhibited a cut-off value of 200 ng/g and the visible limit of detection was 10 ng/g for apple and potato samples in qualitative detection. Analysis of quantitative detection suggested that the limit of detection were 5.4 and 3.2 ng/g in apple and potato samples, respectively. Moreover, the results obtained from the developed ICA strip were shown to coincide with those of LC–MS/MS in the analysis of apple and potato samples. In addition, the ICA exhibited excellent performance with regard to sensitivity, speed, and portability in contrast to previous determination methods for PDM. Hence, the proposed ICA strip showed superior prospects in PDM residue determination.