Abstract:

Immunoassay is one of the most important methods for the detection of food safety. This article reviews the design and synthesis of artificial antigens, the design of haptens, current problems of artificial antigens and applications of computation technology in hapten synthesis. Meanwhile, the applications of polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies, IgY antibodies, and genetically engineered antibodies in the detection of food safety are also discussed. Furthermore, comprehensive information on major immunological methods such as ELISA, gold-based colloidal immunochromatographic assay and immunosensor is also summarized. Hapten immunoassay methods for food safety detection have the advantages of low detection limit, fast detection, convenience and low cost. However, several key techniques including the predictable design of artificial antigens, the mass production of high-tittered antibodies and the combination with novel immunoassay methods for meeting the requirement of high-throughput screening and real-time multiple detection also need to be improved.

Key words: immunoassay, hapten, food safety