Polyclonal antibodies to domoic acid, and their use in immunoassays for domoic acid in sea water and shellfish

Ovine antibodies raised against conjugates linked through the secondary amino group of domoic acid (1) were used, together with activated‐ester‐derived conjugates of domoic acid (DA) as the plate coater, to develop a robust indirect competitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) for DA in shellfish and seawater. The ELISA was used to analyze shellfish samples for DA, and was compatible with several extraction procedures. The ELISA had a detection limit below 0.01 ng ml−1, a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.15 ng ml−1 and a working range of 0.15–15 ng ml−1 DA. The LOQ is equivalent to 38 ng g−1 DA in shellfish flesh, assuming a 250‐fold dilution during extraction. This is more than 500 times lower than the maximum permitted level (20 µg g−1 flesh). The ELISA is designed for use alongside regulatory analyses, and, following formal validation, should be available for pre‐screening of regulatory shellfish flesh samples. The ELISA was also shown to be appropriate for analysis of DA in algal cultures and in samples of seawater, and thus has the potential to provide early warning of developing algal blooms. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.