ARS | Publication request: A highly sensitive and selective immunoassay for the detection of tetrabromobisphenol A in soil and sediment

Submitted to: Analytica Chimica Acta
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 21, 2012
Publication Date: June 29, 2012
Repository URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/56462
Citation: Xu, T., Wang, J., Liu, S.-Z., Lu, C., Shelver, W.L., Li, Q.X., Li, J. 2012. A highly sensitive and selective immunoassay for the detection of tetrabromobisphenol A in soil and sediment. Analytica Chimica Acta. 751:119-127.

Interpretive Summary: Environmental contaminants have drawn a great deal of attention in recent years because many are persistent in the environment, are highly toxic, and accumulate in food. We developed an economical and user friendly analytical method (an immunoassay) for an environmentally persistent flame retardant called tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA). The key to the successful development of the assay was the generation of a reagent that was very specific for TBBPA. The resulting assay was sensitive, selective, and repeatable. In fact, a comparison between the developed assay and more expensive assays indicated that the new assay performed well. The assay was used to demonstrate that TBBPA was present in sediments and soils in areas not directly influenced by industrial emissions. Results of this study suggest that the developed assay could be used in the analysis of a wide range of environmental samples in a cost effective manner.

Technical Abstract: Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is the most widely used brominated flame retardant. A sensitive and selective enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of TBBPA was developed. Six haptens (T1-T6) mimicking different structural elements of TBBPA were synthesized and coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) or bovine serum albumin (BSA) as immunochemical reagents. The best ELISA was based on the combination of antiserum against KLH-T1 and coating antigen BSA-T2, showing an IC50 of 0.87 ng/mL and an IC10 (LOD) of 0.05 ng/mL for TBBPA in assay buffer, with high specificity. Concentrations of TBBPA determined by ELISA in the soils from farmlands, the soils from an e-waste recycling site, and the sediments of a canal ranged from non-detectable - 5.6 ng/g, 26 - 104 ng/g and 0.3 - 22 ng/g dw, respectively, indicating the ubiquitous pollution of this compound. The results of this assay for 16 real world samples displayed a good agreement with those of the LC-MS/MS method, indicating this ELISA is a suitable screening tool for TBBPA in environmental matrices.