Simple assay for staphylococcal enterotoxins A, B, and C: modification of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Abstract

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of staphylococcal enterotoxins is a simple, reliable and sensitive test. A new modification is described that uses polystyrene balls (diameter, 6 mm) coated individually with antibody against one of the toxins A, B or C. In a single tube, 20 ml of the food extract was incubated with the 3 balls differently stained, which were then each tested for the uptake of enterotoxin by a competitive ELISA. A concentration of 0.1 ng or less of enterotoxin/ml can be measured, making tedious concentration procedures of the extracts superfluous. Culture supernatants and extracts from foods artificially or naturally contaminated with toxin were successfully examined. Cross-reactions did not occur and nonspecific interfering substances did not create serious problems.