Preparation of dichlorvos–protein complete antigen by Mannich-type reaction

Dichlorvos (DDVP) residues have been linked to substantial adverse health effects on several organ systems. To ensure food safety, rapid and low-cost immunological methods must be applied to detect DDVP residues in food. In immunological methods, a key step is coupling DDVP to carrier proteins to obtain a complete antigen due to DDVP being hapten. In the current research, DDVP was coupled with cationized bovine serum albumin (cBSA) using a method based on Mannich-type reaction. A DDVP–cBSA conjugate, with a molar ratio of 40:1 DDVP to cBSA was synthesized. The cationized proteins and their conjugates were identified by UV–Vis and FT-IR spectra, which showed the characteristic bands of the ethylenediamine group and DDVP, respectively. BALB/c mice were immunized with DDVP–cBSA. One hybridoma cell line secreted anti-DDVP monoclonal antibody (Mab) that had high sensitivity and specificity for DDVP. Competitive ELISA identified an IC50 of 600 ng/mL and a limit of detection of 1 ng/mL in aqueous solution. The Mab had some cross-reactivity with phosmet, but no cross-reactivity with chlorothalonil and procymidone. We also detected a trace of DDVP in waste water. In conclusion the Mannich-type reaction couples DDVP to protein, yielding an antigen for the production of Mab to detect residual DDVP in the environment.