Development of IC-ELISA for detection of organophosphorus pesticides in water

Diethyl (carboxymethyl) phosphonate (DECP) was used as the hapten to develop an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IC-ELISA) for detecting organophosphorus pesticides (OPs). Conjugator of DECP with bovin serum albumin (BSA) was used as the immunogen for producing the polyclonal antibodies (PcAbs). Three antisera were obtained after the immune procedure. Characterization studies of the PcAbs indicated that the titer of antiserum-1 was highest in 3 antisera, and antiserum-1 had high affinity and specificity to the parathion, dichlorvos and pirimiphos. The IC-ELISA showed an IC50 of 0.428 micro g/mL with a detection limit of 0.0125 micro g/mL to parathion. The assay also indicated that the IC50 values of pirimiphos and dichlorvos were 0.331 micro g/mL and 1.25 micro g/mL respectively, and the detection limits of pirimiphos and dichlorvos were 0.0116 micro g/mL and 0.048 micro g/mL respectively. Recoveries of parathion, pirimiphos and dichlorvos spiked into water samples ranged from 90% to 160%. The results indicated that the ELISA could be a convenient and supplemental analytical tool for monitoring OPs residues in environmental water samples.