Development of a Highly Sensitive Competitive Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of Acrylamide in Foods and Water

Acrylamide (AA) has been classified as a probable human carcinogen and forms in certain foods, particularly plant-based foods that are rich in carbohydrates and low in proteins, during processing or cooking at high temperatures. In this study, polyclonal antibodies were raised against a hapten derived from acrylamide and 3-mercaptobenzoic acid (3-MBA). An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to rapidly quantify AA in complex food matrices and water. The assay was very specific to the AA-3-MBA derivative and showed no cross-reactivity to asparagine, the main precursor of AA formation in foods, aspartic acid, AA, or 3-MBA. The assay was very sensitive with a limit of detection of 5.0 ng/g in model for food matrices to 0.1 μg/L in water. Good recoveries for AA were observed in all matrices tested, and the results using this method were comparable to those obtained from mass spectrometry methods including Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme control samples and results for different food products.