Antibodies to measure residual levels of mycotoxin ochratoxin A in food

Summary of the technology

CSIC and the University of Valencia have developed antibodies capable of determining ochratoxin A in
food and ensure compliance with legislation on food products regarding the presence of this mycotoxin.
Antibodies have been generated using novel functionalized derivatives of ochratoxin A. These
immunoreagents have shown their efficacy in both direct and indirect competitive ELISA to detect
concentrations close to parts per trillion.
We are looking for companies interested in patent licensing for the development of fast, sensitive and
portable kits for the analysis of ochratoxin A in foods and beverages based on these antibodies.
The license of the patent is offered

Effective, fast and accurate detection

















Ochratoxin A has a higher incidence in cereals,
wine, juices and coffee



One of the most harmful and frequent mycotoxins in food is ochratoxin A.
Its presence is a real problem for human health due to its toxicity, and it
causes significant economic losses to various productive sectors. The main
fungi producing ochratoxin A belongs to the genera Penicillium and
Aspergillus, and the products with the highest incidence are cereals, wine,
juices and coffee.
The small concentrations at which this potent toxin is usually found
commonly require the use of sophisticated chromatographic methods. An
alternative is the generation of antibodies against ochratoxin A with
superior performance to the existing ones that allow this toxin being
recognized with high affinity and specificity. These immunoreagents can be
easily implemented in various analytical platforms, from the simplest, such
as competitive ELISAs and immunochromatographic strips, to more
complex, like chips or biosensors of different types, which allows us to
simultaneously analyze a large number of samples in low-resource settings
such as warehouses, cellars and even farmlands.
Main applications and advantages

 Ochratoxin A derivatives functionalized at new positions have been
synthesized that faithfully preserve the structure and characteristics of
this potent mycotoxin.
 These new compounds have proven to be extremely efficient as haptens
to generate antibodies capable of recognizing ochratoxin A with an
affinity and selectivity not previously described.
 Immunoassays developed using these immunoreagents have been shown
to be very sensitive, allowing analysis of ochratoxin A at levels close to
10 parts per trillion.
 These new methods are faster than instrumental procedures, especially
when analyzing complex samples such as wine and coffee.
 The generated immunoreagents are easily adaptable to portable
methods, such as ELISA kits or immunochromatographic strips. Patent status Prioriy patent application filed suitable
for international extension
For more information contact
with:
Mª Jesus Añón Marín
Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología
de Alimentos

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Científicas (CSIC)

Tel.: +34 963900022
E-mail: mjanon@iata.csic.es

Intellectual property status

Related Keywords

• Food Technology
• Food quality and safety
• Food Microbiology / Toxicology / Quality Control
• Health food
• ochratoxin a
• elisa kit