A lateral strip assay for ultrasensitive detection of glyphosate in soybeans and corn†

Abstract

Glyphosate (GLY) is widely applied in agriculture and horticulture as a herbicide. The development of genetically modified plants has caused abuse of GLY, with excessive residues potentially causing harm to human health. Consequently, a novel method needs to be built to detect GLY in soybeans and corn. Computer simulation was used to design an excellent hapten which was used to produce an anti-GLY monoclonal antibody (mAb) with outstanding sensitivity and affinity, and its 50%-inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) was 128.59 ng mL⁻¹. Afterwards, an immunochromatographic assay strip was developed based on the mAb. In soybeans and corn, the visual detection limits were 1 mg kg⁻¹ and 0.2 mg kg⁻¹, while the cut-off values were 50 mg kg⁻¹ and 5 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The reliability of the strips was proved by the existing methods. Thus, a rapid method to detect GLY residues on-site in soybeans and corn was established.