Development of a quantum dots‐based strip immunoassay for the detection of pyrimethanil in fruit and vegetable samples

Abstract We present a quantum dots (QDs)‐based lateral flow immunoassay for the determination of pyrimethanil in fruit and vegetable samples. This QDs‐based strip immunoassay had a cut‐off value of 25 ng/ml, under optimal conditions; linear calibration for pyrimethanil was obtained in the range of 1.9–13.3 ng/ml. The entire sample detection operation could be completed in 30 min. With the strip assay, vegetable and fruit samples spiked with pyrimethanil were extracted and tested, the average recoveries were ranging from 85.6 to 104.3%, with the coefficient of variation below 15%. The results tested from the strip assay were consistent with that obtained from liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry ( R 2 = .98), indicating the developed QDs‐based strip assay is a convincing and useful tool.