Development Of Enzyme-Linked Immunoassay For The Determination Of Mercury

An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IC-ELISA) was developed for the rapid detection of Hg (II). As the mercury ion is not immunogenic, so in this study we linked mercury to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) with1-(4-isothiocyanobenzyl) ethylenediamine-N,N,N’,N’-tetraacetic acid (ITCBE) as immunogen. The titer of the antiserum was1:70000.For the developed ELISA, the limit of detection and sensitivity were0.45μg/L and4.10μg/L, respectively. The cross-reactivity against other metals were all low, except for copper and nickel, which have10.8%,13.5%corss-reactivity, respectively. The recoveries of tap water, Haihe river, dahurica, carrot and Mantis shrimp sample were ranging from70.0%to120.0%and the coefficient of variation was below20%. The accuracy of the developed IC-ELISA method was validated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The developed ELISA for dahurica sample showed high correlation with ICP-MS (the correlation coefficient of the dahurica was0.988). Thus, it was demonstrated that the established immunoassay for the detection of Hg (Ⅱ) is reliable.The established method of enzyme-linked immunoassay for the detection of heavy mercury in food and medicine, with the advantages of high sensitivity, convenient and without expensive equipment can be used as a convenient tool for screening methods and field detection of the bulk sample. It provide a better choice for deal with unexpected food or drug safety accidents of mercury.