A Rapid and Sensitive Assay for the Detection of Benzylpenicillin (PenG) in Milk

PLoS One. 2015 Jul 13;10(7):e0132396. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132396. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Antibiotics, such as benzyl-penicillin (PenG) and cephalosporin, are the most common compounds used in animal therapy. Their massive and illegal use in animal therapy and prophylaxis inevitably causes the presence of traces in foods of animal origin (milk and meat), which creates several problems for human health. With the aim to prevent the negative impact of β-lactam and, in particular, PenG residues present in the milk on customer health, many countries have established maximum residue limits (MRLs). To cope with this problem here, we propose an effective alternative, compared to the analytical methods actually employed, to quantify the presence of penicillin G using the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) method. In particular, the PenG molecule was conjugated to a protein carrier to immunize a rabbit and produce polyclonal antibodies (anti-PenG). The produced antibodies were used as molecular recognition elements for the design of a competitive immune-assay for the detection of PenG by SPR experiments. The detection limit of the developed assay was found to be 8.0 pM, a value much lower than the MRL of the EU regulation limit that is fixed at 12 nM. Thus, our results clearly show that this system could be successfully suitable for the accurate and easy determination of PenG.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / analysis*
  • Antibodies / immunology
  • Antibodies / isolation & purification
  • Chromatography, Affinity
  • Drug Residues / analysis
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Limit of Detection
  • Milk / chemistry*
  • Penicillin G / analysis*
  • Penicillin G / immunology
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Antibodies
  • Penicillin G

Grants and funding

This project was realized in the frame of the CNR Commessa “Progettazione e Sviluppo di Biochip per la Sicurezza Alimentare e Salute Umana (SD; MS; AV)”. This Project was partially funded by the project CTN01_00230_240864 "SAFE & SMART- Nuove tecnologie abilitanti per la food safety e l'integrità delle filiere agro-alimentari in uno scenario globale", and it was also partially funded by the CNR project "Conoscenze integrate per sostenibilità ed innovazione del Made in Italy agro-alimentare (CISIA)”.