Development of a sensitive monoclonal antibody-based indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for analysing chlorantraniliprole residues

Chlorantraniliprole (CAP) is a new anthranilic diamide insecticide acting with high efficacy on ryanodine receptors of most of the species within the Lepidoptera order and has been used worldwide. To monitor its residue in food and environmental samples, we developed an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA), based on monoclonal antibodies. The established icELISA possesses a concentration of producing 50% inhibition (IC50) of 1.60 ng/mL. In addition, the assay had the average recoveries of 79–119% when CAP was fortified in tap water, soil, spinach (Spinacia oleracea), and rape (Brassica campestris). Moreover, the icELISA results of spinach samples were confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Overall, we demonstrate that the developed immunoassay could be used as the quick and convenient determination method of CAP residues in environmental and agricultural samples.