Fluorescent lateral flow immunoassay based on gold nanocluster for detection of pyrrolizidine alkaloids

An ultrasensitive and rapid fluorescent immunoassay based on a broad-spectrum monoclonal antibody (mAb) was developed to detect pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in honey samples. First, Discovery Studio software was used to analyze and predict the target hapten, and retrorsine (RTS) was selected to react with succinic anhydride (HS) for hapten synthesization. A sensitive and broad-spectrum monoclonal antibody (mAb 13E1) was obtained for nine PAs. Then, fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) were conjugated with mAb as a label probe and used in establishing a qualitative and quantitative lateral flow immunoassay (AuNCs-LFIA) for the determination of four PAs (retrorsine, platyphylline, senecionine, integerrimine) in honey within 14 min. The limits of detection (LOD) were 0.083 μg/kg. The recovery in spiked honey samples were 87.98–119.57%, with coefficients of variation of ≤ 11.5%. A total of 45 commercial import honey samples from nine different countries were tested through AuNCs-LFIA and UPLC-MS/MS method, and satisfactory consistency ( R 2 = 0.995) was obtained. The rates of positive samples were 55.56% (25/45), and the average concentrations of four PAs were 3.24–46.47 μg/kg. This ultrasensitive multi-PA method provides an alternative analytical tool for evaluating the human risk posed by the consumption of PA-contaminated honey. Graphical abstract