Development of a Simultaneous Lateral Flow Strip Test for the Rapid and Simple Detection of Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone

Abstract The objective of this study was to develop a 1‐step simultaneous lateral flow strip test for the rapid and simple detection of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) in grains. Two monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against DON and ZEA were respectively conjugated with gold nanoparticles and used to develop a lateral flow strip test for a single toxin and multiple toxins. First, individual lateral flow strips for a single toxin were optimized, and their conditions were used to develop a simultaneous lateral flow strip for multiple toxins. Limits of detection of both lateral flow strip tests for DON and ZEA were the same (DON: 50 ng/mL, ZEA: 1 ng/mL). Both methods showed cross‐reactivity for α‐zearalenol and β‐zearalenol, but no cross‐reaction to other mycotoxins. The results can be completed obtained within 15 min. The cut‐off values of the simultaneous lateral flow strip for the spiked rice and corn were 500 and 10 ng/g for DON and ZEA, respectively. The results demonstrated that the developed simultaneous lateral flow strip test offers a rapid, easy‐to‐use, and portable analytical system and can be used as a convenient qualitative tool for the on‐site detection of DON and ZEA in food and agricultural commodities.