A simple rapid portable immunoassay of trace zearalenone in feed ingredients and agricultural food

Zearalenone (ZEN) has emerged as a global public health concern due to its significant pathogenicity and world-wide distribution in animal feed ingredients and agricultural food. In the study, we report on the design and development of a simple portable immunosensor based on polyamindoamine dendrimer (PD)-multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposite containing carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) for rapid electrochemical immunoassay of ZEN residual in feed ingredients and agricultural food using U-disk potentiostat with smartphone. A large number of ZEN monoclonal antibody was covalently immobilized onto the electrode surface of nanocomposite owing to abundant carboxyl groups of PD , MWCNT and CMC. Nanocomposite modified screen printed electrode was employed to fabricate a simple rapid portable immunosensor using U-disk potentiostat with smartphone. The electrochemical immunosensor presented a desirable linear relationship ranges from 0.001–100 ng mL −1 with a low detection limit of 0.15 pg mL −1 under the optimal conditions, which was consistent with the results of the immunosensor prepared with glassy carbon electrode on the traditional potentiostat with desktop computer. It is proposed as a simple and robust analytical tool for rapid detection of hazardous substances including ZEN in feed ingredients and agricultural food on the basis of the great performance of the proposed immunosensor.