A certain group of mycotoxins, the ergot alkaloids, has caused countless deaths throughout human history. They are found in rye and other cereals and ingesting contaminated foods can cause serious health problems. To identify contaminated food exceeding the legal limits for ergot alkaloids, a portable and cost-effective test system is of great interest to the food industry. Rapid analysis can be achieved by screening for a marker compound, for which we chose ergometrine. We developed a magnetic bead-based immunoassay for ergometrine with amperometric detection in a flow injection system using a handheld potentiostat and a smartphone. With this assay a limit of detection of 3 nM (1 μg L-1) was achieved. In spiked rye flour, ergometrine levels from 25 to 250 μg kg-1 could be quantified. All results could be verified by optical detection. The developed assay offers great promise to meet the demand for on-site ergometrine detection in the food industry.
Keywords: Amperometry; Ergot alkaloids; Food analysis; Immunoassay; Magnetic beads.
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