Fluorescence polarization immunoassay of mycotoxins: a review

Immunoassays are routinely used in the screening of commodities and foods for fungal toxins (mycotoxins). Demands to increase speed and lower costs have lead to continued improvements in such assays. Because many reported mycotoxins are low molecular weight (below 1 kDa), immunoassays for their detection have generally been constructed in competitive heterogeneous formats. An exception is fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA), a homogeneous format that does not require the separation of bound and free labels (tracer). The potential for rapid, solution phase, immunoassays has been realized in the development of FPIA for many of the major groups of mycotoxins, including aflatoxins, fumonisins, group B trichothecenes (primarily deoxynivalenol), ochratoxin A, and zearalenone. This review describes the basic principles of FPIA and summarizes recent research in this area with regard to mycotoxins.