Paper-based fluorescent immunoassay for highly sensitive and selective detection of norfloxacin in milk at picogram level

Norfloxacin (NOR) in milk may influence mammalian cell replication and bring about a decrease in the efficiency for treating infection in humans. However, current techniques for detecting NOR usually require expensive instruments and trained personnel. In this work, we have developed a low-cost and simple method via paper-based fluorescent immunoassay for highly sensitive and selective detection of NOR in milk at picogram level. The NOR monoclonal antibody labeled with quantum dots is used as a detection probe to recognize the corresponding NOR, which can quantitatively detect NOR on paper-based devices. The detection limits in aqueous solution and milk are 1 pg/mL and 10 pg/mL, respectively. The developed paper-based method provides a cheap, sensitive, eco-friendly, and rapid approach for quantitative detection of trace NOR in milk, which may find wide applications in food safety inspection. Noteworthy, the method is especially suitable for applications at resource-limited and on-site settings.