Novel immunochromatographic estimation of lamb content in meat products using IgG as biomarker

The aim of this study was to develop a novel immunochromatographic analysis (ICA) for the determination of lamb additives in raw meat and meat products. Sheep immunoglobulins of class G (IgG) served as the molecular identifier. The ICA was implemented in a sandwich format using anti-species antibodies labeled with gold nanoparticles. Sheep IgG was detected with the instrumental detection limit of 60 ng/mL and the cutoff of 10 ng/ mL within 13 min. The high specificity of the ICA towards only sheep IgG was confirmed within the determination of immunoglobulins of other mammals and birds and analysis of extracts from the corresponding sorts of meat. It was shown that the test system can reliably determine 1% lamb additive in chicken meat. The test system was successfully used for lamb identification in dumplings of various compositions. The proposed ICA is a promising approach for the determination of species-specific immunoglobulins as biomarkers of composition and adulteration of meat products.