Comparison of Fluorescence Immunochromatography and HPLC for the Trace Analysis of Algal Toxins

New monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against microcystin (MC), a cyclic peptide toxin of the freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa, were prepared from cloned hybridoma cell lines. Using these mAbs, an immunochromatographic assay system was designed for the detection of cyanobacterial hepatotoxins, MCs in water. The immunochromatographic assay system is composed of anti‐MCs‐mAb, fluorescence conjugates in detection solution, an immunochromatographic assay strip, and a laser fluorescence scanner. The performance of the immunochromatographic assay system was compared with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detection. As the detection limit of HPLC is several orders of magnitude higher than with immunochromatographic assay systems, attention was also given to preconcentration of samples with solid phase extraction cartridges.