Monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of total malachite green and crystal violet residues in fishery products

A rapid easy-to-use trace level direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dc-ELISA) detection of total residual malachite green (MG), crystal violet (CV) and their corresponding primary metabolites leucomalachite green (LMG) and leucocrystal violet (LCV) in fishery products in a single assay was developed. The monoclonal antibodies, anti-MG and anti-CV mAbs, were prepared using carboxyl-malachite green (CMG) and cationized bovine serum albumin (cBSA) conjugates as immunogen. The linear range for the quantitative detection of total MG, CV and their primary metabolites LMG and LCV was between 0.15 to 4.5 ng mL−1 with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) at 0.56 ± 0.04 ng mL−1 (n = 5). The anti-MG mAbs exhibited 98% cross-reactivity to CV, less than 0.1% cross-reactivity with LMG and LCV, and no cross-reactivity with chloramphenicol, enrofloxacin, sulfadiazine, and tetracycline. Application of the dc-ELISA in fish tissue samples gave a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.37 ng g−1. The improved total detection lead to a recovery of 74.60 ± 8.38% at 0.5 ng g−1 and 87.47 ± 12.83% at 2.0 ng g−1 that was better than existing techniques. The dc-ELISA showed total MG in 7 out of 44 field fish samples that were confirmed with LC-MS/MS. The easy-to-use, inexpensive, and rapid dc-ELISA for the detection of total MG, CV and their corresponding primary metabolites holds promise for field applications.