Commercialized rapid immunoanalytical tests for determination of allergenic food proteins: an overview

• Published in: Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry Vol. 395; no. 1; pp. 69 - 81
• Main Authors: Schubert-Ullrich, Patricia, Rudolf, Judith, Ansari, Parisa, Galler, Brigitte, Führer, Manuela, Molinelli, Alexandra, Baumgartner, Sabine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01.09.2009; Springer-Verlag
• Subjects: Allergens - analysis; Analytical Chemistry; Arachis hypogaea; Biochemistry; biosensors; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Corylus; Food Hypersensitivity; Food Science; Immunoassay - methods; immunoassays; Juglans; Laboratory Medicine; Microarray; Mollusca; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Prunus dulcis; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; Resonance-enhanced absorption; Review; Sesamum; Strip tests; surface plasmon resonance; Strip tests; Immunoassay; Surface plasmon resonance; Resonance-enhanced absorption; Microarray; Biosensors
• DOI: 10.1007/s00216-009-2715-y
• ISSN: 1618-2642

Food allergies have become an important health issue especially in industrialized countries. Undeclared allergenic ingredients or the presence of “hidden” allergens because of contamination during the food production process pose great health risks to sensitised individuals. The EU directive for food labelling lists allergenic foods that have to be declared on food products by the manufacturers. The list includes gluten-containing cereals, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, various nuts (e.g. almond, hazelnut, and walnut, etc.), celery, mustard, sesame seeds, lupin, and molluscs. Reliable methods for detection and quantification of food allergens are needed that can be applied in a fast and easy-to-use manner, are portable, and need only limited technical equipment. This review focuses on the latest developments in food allergen analysis with special emphasis on fast immunoanalytical methods such as rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), lateral-flow immunochromatographic assays (LFA) and dipstick tests. Emerging technologies such as immunochemical microarrays and biosensors are also discussed and their application to food allergen analysis is reviewed. Finally, a comprehensive overview of rapid immunochemical test kits that are currently available commercially is given in tabular form.