IMMUNOASSAY FOR THE DETECTION AND QUANTITATION OF TOXINS CAUSING PARALYTIC SHELLFISH POISONING

摘要

This invention relates to the development of an immunoassay for the detection an d quantification of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins. The accumulation o f paralytic toxins in mollusks is a seasonal phenomena that occurs with great variability. S ince the ingestion of these toxins may cause death, a detection system to prevent the con sumption of contaminated mollusks is desirable. At present, only one paralytic toxin, sax otoxin (STX) can be detected with available immunoassays. However, STX is not the princ ipal toxin present in mollusks, and thus its detection and quantification does not ac count for the total toxicity of contaminated shellfish. With this invention we describe fo r first time, an immunoassay able to detect all paralytic toxins; these include saxitoxin (STX ), neosaxitoxin (NEO), gonyautoxins (GTXs), Cs and other derivatives. Using this immunoassay, total toxicity of all PSP-contaminated mollusks can be determined Additionally, the presence of toxins in dinoflagellates, protozoan, crustacean, shellfish, algae, bacteria, fish, or any other species or sample containing paralytic toxin s, can be detected. In this application various immunoassays, methods for antibody product ion and uses of these immunoassays are described.