A highly rapid and simple competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for monitoring paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins in shellfish

• A competitive inhibition assay for the detection of PSP toxins was developed.
• The assay (PSP-ELISA) is highly rapid and simple to perform.
• Overestimation or underestimation of toxin concentration by PSP-ELISA was improved.
• Results of PSP-ELISA were closely correlated with those of mouse bioassay (MBA).
• This methodology appears to be useful as a screening method prior to MBA analysis.

Using a streptavidin-coated well plate, a biotin-labelled anti-gonyautoxin 2/3 monoclonal antibody GT-13A, and a decarbamoyl saxitoxin-peroxidase conjugate, a direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PSP-ELISA) was developed for monitoring paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins in shellfish. This assay is simple to perform and can be completed in approximately 20 min. The PSP-ELISA was compared to the mouse bioassay (MBA) for the detection of PSP toxins in shellfish samples (n = 83) collected from the coast of Osaka Prefecture, Japan. When positive and negative results were indicated based on the regulatory limit for PSP toxins (4 mouse unit (MU)/g of shellfish meat), the PSP-ELISA results showed a sensitivity of 100% (25 of 25) and a specificity of 89.7% (52 of 58 samples) compared to the MBA results. These results suggest that the PSP-ELISA could be used as a rapid and simple screening method prior to the MBA.