Avoidance of antibiotic residues is an essential element in the production of safe meat and dairy products. Our objectives in this research were to develop an enzyme immunoassay for β-lactam penicillins, design an automated sensor to implement this assay, and evaluate the detection performance. An antibody capture with antigen competition assay was developed to run in polystyrene cuvets, with a test time of 13-15 min. A photometric sensor consisting of an optical head, electronic/fluidic board, and control computer was then designed to implement this assay. Results from manual assay tests on ampicillin in phosphate-buffered saline showed a slight reduction in optical density at 100 ng/mL and a significant reduction of 21 for 200 ng/mL. Sensor calibration tests gave similar results, indicating that the detection chemistry was successfully automated. Higher affinity or avidity antibodies are needed to detect U.S. and European Community residue limits.
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