A Glycoprotein-Based Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy–Lateral Flow Assay Method for Abrin and Ricin Detection
Lan Xiao,
Li Luo,
Jia Liu,
Luyao Liu,
Han Han,
Rui Xiao,
Lei Guo,
Jianwei Xie,
Li Tang
Affiliations
Lan Xiao
Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine (Minzu University of China), Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Li Luo
Laboratory of Toxicant Analysis, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing 100850, China
Jia Liu
Laboratory of Toxicant Analysis, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing 100850, China
Luyao Liu
Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine (Minzu University of China), Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Han Han
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
Rui Xiao
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
Lei Guo
Laboratory of Toxicant Analysis, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing 100850, China
Jianwei Xie
Laboratory of Toxicant Analysis, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing 100850, China
Li Tang
Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine (Minzu University of China), Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Abrin and ricin, both type II ribosome-inactivating proteins, are toxins of significant concern and are under international restriction by the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The development of a rapid and sensitive detection method for these toxins is of the utmost importance for the first emergency response. Emerging rapid detection techniques, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and lateral flow assay (LFA), have garnered attention due to their high sensitivity, good selectivity, ease of operation, low cost, and disposability. In this work, we generated stable and high-affinity nanotags, via an efficient freezing method, to serve as the capture module for SERS-LFA. We then constructed a sandwich-style lateral flow test strip using a pair of glycoproteins, asialofetuin and concanavalin A, as the core affinity recognition molecules, capable of trace measurement for both abrin and ricin. The limit of detection for abrin and ricin was 0.1 and 0.3 ng/mL, respectively. This method was applied to analyze eight spiked white powder samples, one juice sample, and three actual botanic samples, aligning well with cytotoxicity assay outcomes. It demonstrated good inter-batch and intra-batch reproducibility among the test strips, and the detection could be completed within 15 min, indicating the suitability of this SERS-LFA method for the on-site rapid detection of abrin and ricin toxins.
