Lateral flow immunodipstick for visual detection of aflatoxin B1 in food using immuno-nanoparticles composed of a silver core and a gold shell

An immunodipstick assay with a lateral flow strip was developed for fast screening of food for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) using the respective monoclonal antibody immobilized on nanoparticles with a silver core and a gold shell (AgAu) as detection reagent. The membrane-based immunodipstick consisted of a test line containing AFB1 conjugated to bovine serum albumin, and a control line with goat anti-mouse IgG. One to two colored lines are formed on the membrane by using the red AgAu nanoparticles coated with anti-AFB1 as signaling reagents. Under optimal conditions, the dipstick exhibits a lower visual detection limit of 0.1 ng mL−1 of AFB1. Compared to the use of pure gold nanoparticles, the AgAu nanoparticles strongly enhance the sensitivity of the assay, and the reproducibility and stability are comparable. The assay was evaluated with naturally contaminated samples including rice, wheat, sunflower, cotton, chillies, and almonds, and a good correlation was found with data obtained with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The simple and non-instrumental dipstick method may further be extended to the screening of other mycotoxins in food.