Aluminum oxide nanoparticles as carriers and adjuvants for eliciting antibodies from non-immunogenic haptens.

Functionalized nanomaterials have applications yet to be discovered, especially in the biological field and, in particular, the in vivo production of antibodies. In this paper, we show that aluminum oxide nanoparticles that are covalently coupled to haptens (small molecular mass compounds) activate the immune system, eliciting antibodies (polyclonal and monoclonal) specific for the herbicide atrazine, the antibiotic sulfasalazine, and the vitamin biotin in mice and rabbits. The particles play the role of carrier and adjuvant, with the immune response being dependent on size and crystallinity.

Highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for chlorpyrifos. Application to olive oil analysis.

Highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunoassays for chlorpyrifos, one of the most applied insecticides, are presented. Several haptens were synthesized for immunoreagent production and ELISA development. The best immunoassays obtained are based on an indirect coated-plate immunoassay format.

Evaluation of a novel malathion immunoassay for groundwater and surface water analysis.

Malathion is an organophosphorus insecticide commonly used in crops and indoor applications. Negative effects of malathion on human health and ecosystems are of growing concern. In this work, novel malathion haptens are synthesized to develop an ELISA screening method.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the organophosphorus insecticide fenthion. Influence of hapten structure.

Novel procedures for fenthion hapten synthesis are described following three different strategies. The first one attaches the spacer arm to the oxygen atom of the aromatic fenthion ring. The second one binds it through the thiophosphate moiety and the third strategy consists on the attachment of the spacer arm to the sulfur atom of the molecule.

Assessment of novel diazinon immunoassays for water analysis.

Diazinon is a broad organophosphate insecticide used in agricultural and other treatments, resulting in widespread water contamination. The development of easy-to-use screening immunoanalytical methods is an interesting tool to study environmental pollution impact. Two novel strategies for diazinon hapten synthesis are addressed.

Rapid immunoanalytical method for the determination of atrazine residues in olive oil.

A sensitive, simple and reliable method has been developed for the determination of atrazine in extra virgin olive oil. The analytical procedure involves direct extraction of the target analyte from oil matrix with methanol and a freezing clean-up step (-80 degrees C) followed by plate or sensor immunoassay determination. A detection limit of 0.