Simplified solid-phase membrane immunobead assay (MIA) with monoclonal anti-ciguatoxin antibody (MAb-CTX) for detection of ciguatoxin and related polyether toxins.

The development of a simplified and modified procedure for the assessment of ciguatoxin (CTX) and related polyethers from ciguateric contaminated fish tissues is presented in this study. The previous method, stick-enzyme immunoassay (S-EIA) used an organic correction fluid-coated bamboo paddle stick for the solid phase; this new procedure, membrane immunobead assay (MIA), uses a plastic stick with a synthetic membrane laminated onto one end. The membrane is hydrophobic and serves as the solid-phase receptor for the binding of methanol-extracted CTX or its related polyether lipids from fish tissues. Detection of the bound polyether toxin(s) on the membrane is carried out with colored polystyrene beads coated with monoclonal antibody to CTX (MAb-CTX). Intensity of the color on the membrane is proportional to the amount of toxic polyethers on the membrane. The MIA is compared with previous procedures developed for CTX detection (S-EIA and solid-phase immunobead assay, SPIA) using State of Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) implicated ciguateric fishes, and reef fishes from Hawaii and Kwajalein. The data presented show good correlation between the three test systems, especially with ciguatera implicated fish and toxic, routinely assessed fishes in the mouse toxicity (MT) bioassay. Variations between MT results and those of the S-EIA, SPIA, and MIA of routine fishes are generally attributable to diverse toxins present in the fish species examined. The MIA is a simple, rapid, sensitive, and specific detection method for CTX and its related polyethers, with no reported false negative results. The test is useful for field and personal use and can be adapted to the laboratory for large-scale screening of potentially ciguateric fishes.