Then, the residue was resuspended with 1 mL of the compound solution (PBS: methanol = 9:1) and diluted 16 occasions with PBS to be ready for ic-ELISA analysis. The sensitivity of the ic-ELISA analysis for practical applications is determined by the detection of the actual samples. kidney, chicken, and chicken liver were 0.48C0.58 7ACC1 g/kg, 0.61C0.90 g/kg, and 73.7C107.8%, respectively, and the coefficients of variation (CV) were less than 11%. The results of the ic-ELISA showed a good correlation with LCCMS/MS in animal-derived foods. This suggests that this analytical method can be used for the rapid screening of QX residues. Keywords: desoxymequindox, monoclonal antibody, ELISA, residue analysis 1. Introduction Quinoxalines (Qx) are chemically synthesized antibacterial drugs that have a strong inhibitory effect on both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria [1,2]. Due to the broad antimicrobial spectrum and obvious growth-promoting effects, Qx are used in excessive amounts by farmers as feed additives to obtain more economic benefits [3]. However, several studies have shown that Qx can cause toxic side effects such as trichothecation, photosensitivity, and adrenal cortical damage in livestock and poultry. More seriously, drug residues in animal-derived foods can pose a significant threat to the population directly consuming them [4,5,6]. According to the latest reports, the quinoxalines desoxymetabolites (desoxyquinoxalines, DQx) have the highest residues and have been identified as major toxicants. They will soon replace 3-methyl-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid (MQCA) and quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid (QCA) as the new residue markers for Qx [1,7,8]. The chemical structures of Qx and the major DQx are shown in Physique 1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China has stated that olaquindox (OLA), carbadox (CBX), and mequindox (MEQ) have been banned for use in food animals, and the requirements for residue detection of quinoxalines have been increasing. In order SQLE to accurately monitor the residual hazards of Qx in animals and reduce the risk to human health, there is a need to develop a residue-monitoring method for DQx. Open in a separate window Physique 1 The chemical structures of Qx and the major DQx. Currently, many detection assays have been reported but mainly for Qx prototypes or MQCA and QCA, which 7ACC1 were previously identified as residue markers. Additionally, the detection of QX is mainly focused on instrumental detection assays, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [9,10] and liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LCCMS/MS) [11,12]. Though the instrument-detection method has high sensitivity and precision, it requires rather expensive devices, complicated technology, a long operation time, and low detection efficiency. In contrast, immunoassay methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), are simple, convenient, sensitive, specific and inexpensive. ELISA has become an alternative analytical method or a meaningful complement, especially in the detection of large numbers of samples [13,14]. Current indirect competitive ELISAs (ic-ELISA) are all for Qx prototypes, MQCA, or QCA [15,16]. To the best of our knowledge, immunoassay assays for the residue detection of DQx have not been previously reported. The maximum residue limits (MRLs) for DQx are not legally standardized, leading to potential gaps in food safety. Therefore, it is important to develop a rapid and accurate detection method for DQx. In this study, we propose to synthesize novel haptens against desoxymequindox (DMEQ) to fully expose the main a part of DQx. The aim is to prepare monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against DQx and establish an ic-ELISA method to provide strong technical support for ensuring the 7ACC1 food safety of animal origin and reducing the risk to human health. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Chemicals and Apparatus Quinocetone (QCT), OLA, MEQ, CBX, cyadox (CYX), DMEQ, desoxyolaquindox (DOLA), desoxyquinocatone (DQCT), desoxycarbadox (DCBX), desoxycyadox (DCYX), N1-desoxycyadox (N1-DCYX), N4-desoxycyadox (N4-DCYX), MQCA, and QCA were purchased from Sigma (USA). N-acetylsulfanilyl chloride, p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), carboxymethyl hydroxylamine (AOAA), N-hydroxysuccinimide, pyridine, bovine serumalbumin (BSA), human serum albumin (HSA), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), ovalbumin (OVA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), hypoxanthineCaminopterinCthymidine (HAT) medium, hypoxanthineCthymidine (HT) medium, and peroxidase-labelled goat anti-mouse immunoglobulins (HRP-IgG) were 7ACC1 purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (USA). Australian fetal bovine serum was purchased from Thermo Fisher Bioengineering Materials (Beijing, China). The SP2/0 mouse-tumor cell line was obtained from our laboratory. All other chemicals 7ACC1 and organic solvents were of analytical grade or better. Female Balb/c mice (6C8 weeks aged, NO. 42000600000485) were bought from Three Gorges University (Yichang, China) and quality-tested by the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Wuhan, China). A full-wavelength microplate reader (BioTek, Winooski, VT, USA) and a UV spectrophotometer (Model 8453) were purchased from Agilent Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA, USA). 2.2. Antigen Design and Preparation 2.2.1. Synthesis of Antigens MQCACPABACBSA/OVA The.