Okadaic acid (OA), a marine biotoxin produced by microalgae, poses a significant threat to mariculture, seafood safety, and human health. The establishment of a novel, highly sensitive detection method for OA would have significant practical and scientific implications. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop an innovative approach for OA detection. A competitive amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay (AlphaLISA) was developed using the principle of specific antigen–antibody binding based on the energy transfer between chemiluminescent microspheres. The method was non-washable, sensitive, and rapid, which could detect 2 × 10⁻²–200 ng/mL of OA within 15 min, and the detection limit was 4.55 × 10⁻³ ng/mL. The average intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 2.54% and 6.26%, respectively. Detection of the actual sample results exhibited a good correlation with high-performance liquid chromatography. In conclusion, a simple, rapid, sensitive, and accurate AlphaLISA method was established for detecting OA and is expected to significantly contribute to marine biotoxin research.

Okadaic acid (OA) is a biotoxin from marine microalgae and widely present in shellfish, which severely affects the seafood safety. Therefore, it is essential to establish a highly sensitive OA analysis and detection method. In this study, a new type of immunoassay technology was established on the basis of the competition method using time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TRFIA). OA-bovine serum albumin (OA-BSA) coated on a 96-well plate competes with OA standard or samples to bind OA antibodies. A rare-earth ion-labeled secondary antibody, which fluoresces strongly under the effect of the enhancement solution, was then added as a tracer for detection. The established linear range of OA detected by TRFIA was 2.49 × 10^-3 – 50 ng/ml, and the limit of detection was 2.49 × 10^-3 ng/ml. The average coefficients of variation from intra-assay and inter-assay batches were 3.34% and 5.87%, respectively, and the recovery rate was 93.04%–111.66%. The OA in shellfish samples was determined by TRFIA and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the results showed a good correlation. This study established a TRFIA to detect OA, which has the characteristics of simplicity, sensitivity, precision, and high accuracy, far exceeding the EU or the US standards for the detection of shellfish toxins. It is expected to make proper contribution in marine biotoxin detection.

Antibiotic abuse in the conventional treatment of microbial infections, such as inflammatory bowel disease, induces cumulative toxicity and antimicrobial resistance which requires the development of new antibiotics or novel strategies for infection control. Crosslinker-free polysaccharide-lysozyme microspheres were constructed via an electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly technique by adjusting the assembly behaviors of carboxymethyl starch (CMS) on lysozyme and subsequently outer cationic chitosan (CS) deposition. The relative enzymatic activity and in vitro release profile of lysozyme under simulated gastric and intestinal fluids were investigated. The highest loading efficiency of the optimized CS/CMS-lysozyme micro-gels reached 84.9% by tailoring CMS/CS content. The mild particle preparation procedure retained relative activity of 107.4% compared with free lysozyme, and successfully enhanced the antibacterial activity against E. coli due to the superposition effect of CS and lysozyme. Additionally, the particle system showed no toxicity to human cells. In vitro digestibility testified that almost 70% was recorded in the simulated intestinal fluid within 6 h. Results demonstrated that the cross-linker-free CS/CMS-lysozyme microspheres could be a promising antibacterial additive for enteric infection treatment due to its highest effective dose (573.08 μg/mL) and fast release at the intestinal tract.