Progress in immunoassays for nitrofurans detection

Nitrofurans comprise a class of synthetic broad-spectrum antibacterial agents, which had been used extensively as therapeutic drugs and feed additives in animal husbandry. Because of the potential carcinogenic and mutagenic effects of these drugs and their metabolites, most countries have banned their use in food animals. However, driven by economic interests, the illegal use of nitrofurans poses a significant threat to human health. Therefore, to safeguard health of the consumer, it is of paramount importance to develop efficient, sensitive, and reliable detection methods to monitor nitrofuran and their metabolite residues in animal-derived foods. In this paper, the progress in immunoassays for nitrofuran residues is reviewed, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, fluoroimmunoassay, chemiluminescence immunoassay, immunochromatography, and immunosensor assay. Basic principles and applications of these methods were described and compared in this paper. Furthermore, the future perspective on the improvement and development of the immunoassays for the detection of nitrofurans has been discussed.