Development and validation of a rapid lateral flow test for the detection of fluoroquinolones in meat and blood

• Published in: Food control 2024-02, Vol.156, p.110116, Article 110116
• Main Authors: Serrano, María Jesús, Mata, Luis, Pellicer, Silvia, Segura-Gil, Isabel, Razquin, Pedro, Pagán, Rafael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibiotic; Antibody; Blood; Fluoroquinolone; Lateral flow immunoassay; Meat
• ISSN: 0956-7135; 1873-7129
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2023.110116

Fluoroquinolones are antibiotics of considerable relevance in veterinary therapy. If they fail to be properly controlled, they can eventually reach animal-derived food products. As most of the biologically based screening tests used in surveillance plans are not able to detect fluoroquinolones, it would be highly convenient to devise a complementary test designed to detect them specifically. Therefore, a new lateral flow immunoassay test was developed for the ante and post mortem detection of fluoroquinolones in blood and meat samples, respectively, of the main food-producing species. In both matrixes, the test was able to detect most of the European Union-authorized fluoroquinolones at the Maximum Residue Limits set in the European Union for meat; as an instance, the limit of detection was 50 μg/kg for enrofloxacin, 200 μg/kg for flumequine, and 100 μg/kg for marbofloxacin. Hence, this new technique is proposed as an automatized, sensitive, specific, rapid, and robust tool for the management of fluoroquinolone residues in all stages of meat production: no only as a post morten method, in meat samples, but also as an ante mortem method, in blood samples from living animals. [Display omitted] •A new LFIA test was developed for the ante and post-mortem detection of FQs.•Authorized and non-authorized FQs were detected in blood and meat matching EU-MRLs.•The new LFIA test proved to be highly specific, sensitive, robust and fast.•LFIA test would complement biological screening tests in antibiotic surveillance.