Objective: Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a trichothecene mycotoxin produced by Fusarium graminearum, a pathogen causing Fusarium Head Blight of wheat. It is necessary to establish a rapid and simple assay to detect DON.
Methods: High affinity monoclonal antibodies (Mab) against DON were produced by cell fusion with 500 mg/mL Polyethylene Glycol 400, and cell sub-cloning in HAT (H: hypoxanthine, A: aminopterin; T: thymidine) culture medium for screening and limiting dilution. Hybridoma lines were screened for specificity to DON by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). One hybridoma cell line (3B2) secreting monoclonal antibody (MAb) against DON was produced by fusing mouse myeloma cells (SP 2/0) with spleen cells from BAL B/C mice which were immunized by the artificial antigen conjugated with Ovalbumin (OVA).
Results: The MAb obtained in this experiment could specifically react with DON without cross-reactivity to DON related compounds except 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-Ac-DON), with the titres of ascitic fluids up to 1 x 10(-7) by indirect ELISA. Isotype and subclass of the monoclonal cell line (3B2) showed that it belonged to IgG1. The light chain of the MAb was identified to be kappa. Ascites antibodies generated by hybridoma of 3B2 cells were purified. Inhibition rate studies showed that the detection limit of the ELISA was 8 microg/L, with the regression equation of indirect ELISA Y = 0.7331g(x)-0.572, R2=0.9652, IC50 value being 29 ug/L.
Conclusion: The MAb can be used to prepare the reagents for analyzing DON residue.