Fluorescence Polarization Assay for the Determination of Fumonisins

Fumonisin (a mycotoxin that causes leukoencaphalomalacia in horses, cancer in laboratory animals and esophageal cancer in humans) contamination of corn has guided the evolution of various methods for fumonisin measurement in grains. The existing fumonisin detection methods are labor intensive, time consuming and expensive and are not suitable for field-testing. We propose the development of a fluorescence polarization (FP) based sensitive, rapid and inexpensive quantitative assay for fumonisin detection that can be performed in the field. This test will be a major contribution to the grain community. Growers and processors will be able to conduct this test themselves in the fields or anywhere they need. Due to the use of organic solvents for fumonisin extraction, many technical and economical problems exist. We plan to extract fumonisin with water and analyze with FP. This technique is used for the homogeneous analysis of molecular interactions of small molecules with proteins, antigen-antibody interactions, hormone-receptor interactions, monitoring therapeutic drug levels and substances of abuse. In this proposal we plan to use FP to determine the fumonisin contamination in grains extracted with water.