Sensitivity of lateral flow tests to mixtures of saxitoxins and applications to shellfish and phytoplankton monitoring.

We have investigated some characteristics of antibodies in the lateral flow format for detecting paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins and compared them with the mouse bioassay (MBA). The MBA is still the most reliable test for toxicity in shellfish because it provides an estimate of toxicity directly and can include more than one contaminant. Most other methods, including those involving antibodies, provide estimates of toxin concentration from which toxicity is implied or calculated using conversion factors.