Development of immunoassay technology for the detection of ractopamine in pork products

摘要

beta-adrenoceptor agonists (BAGs) are used in livestock production to enhance muscle growth by stimulating lipolysis, increasing protein synthesis and reducing protein breakdown in muscle (Baker et ah, 1984; Emery et ah., 1984). BAGs have been shown to improve feed efficiency and increase carcase leanness in pigs (Watkins et ah., 1990). Ractopamine (RAC) is approved for use in pigs in Australia. Detection of RAC in pork products is necessary to ensure that customer requirements, both in our domesticand export markets, are being met. In Australia, testing for veterinary chemical residues, including BAGs, in meat is expensive and confined to a few expert laboratories with concomitant high cost. Thus there is a need to develop a rapid and sensitive detection method for residues. The overall aim of this project was to develop a portable lateral flow device based using a custom made chip technology to simultaneously screen different veterinary chemicals and BAGs.