Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for triclocarban in aquatic environments

A sensitive, competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection of triclocarban (TCC) in waters and sediments. Haptens were synthesized by derivatizing the paraposition of a phenyl moiety of TCC. The synthesized hapten was then coupled to bovine thyroglobulin to be used as an immunogen, based on which, a high affinity monoclonal antibody 4D5 was produced with the hybridoma technique. Under the optimized conditions, using the monoclonal antibody, excellent performances of the assay were obtained: satisfactory sensitivity (IC₅₀ (50% inhibition concentration) value, 0.43 ng/mL; limit of detection, 0.05 ng/mL); good linear range (0.05–10 ng/mL); and satisfactory accuracy (recoveries 70.7–107% in waters; 74.8–98.3% in sediments). Furthermore, TCC was found with the concentration ranging from not detected to 422.12 ng/L in waters and from 6.68 ng/g to 78.67 ng/g in sediments in Yunliang River, Ancient Canal and Hongqiao Port in Zhenjiang City. In conclusion ELISA could be applied for monitoring TCC in aquatic environments.