Highly luminescent green-emitting Au nanocluster-based multiplex lateral flow immunoassay for ultrasensitive detection of clenbuterol and ractopamine

Abstract

A multiplex lateral flow immunoassay sensor based on highly luminescent green-emitting Au nanoclusters (AuNCs-MLFIA sensor) was successfully established for the simultaneous and quantitative determination of clenbuterol (Clen) and ractopamine (RAC) in swine urine. The antigens of Clen and RAC were dispersed on a nitrocellulose membrane as two test lines, and the Au nanoclusters were synthesized from 6-aza-2-thiothymine and l-arginine to obtain highly green luminescence and ultra-small nanoparticles (Arg/ATT/AuNCs). Free carboxyl groups on Arg/ATT/AuNCs enabled conjugation with biomolecules to afford an indicator for the biosensor. The AuNCs-MLFIA sensor is based on the indirect competition assay and could successfully detect samples within 18 min without sample pretreatment, qualitative results can be obtained by visual inspection under a UV lamp. The limits of detection of Clen and RAC by the naked eye were both 0.25 μg L−1. In addition, the AuNCs-MLFIA sensor allowed quantitative detection combined with a portable fluorescence reader. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of Clen and RAC were 0.06 and 0.32 μg L−1, respectively, with detection limits of 0.003 and 0.023 μg L−1. Thirty blind-spiked swine urine samples were analyzed by the AuNCs-MLFIA sensor and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, and the results of the two methods showed a significant correlation. The newly developed AuNCs-MLFIA sensor overcomes several limitations of conventional LFIA sensors, including their low sensitivity, limitation to quantify analytes, and single-analyte detection.