![Sample our Food Science & Technology journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5936/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Food-Science-Technology.jpg"})
Abstract
β‐Agonists are among the most widely abused drugs in veterinary medicine for the illegal promotion of farm animal growth. An array of analytical procedures has been developed to detect the residues of these compounds in many biological materials. As the number of β‐agonist formulations increases, it has become increasingly difficult to devise screening techniques capable of detecting a broad spectrum of these residues in a single test. A dual immunoassay based on time‐resolved fluorescence was developed that incorporated a monoclonal antibody raised to tertiary butyl amines and a polyclonal antibody to biphenolic β‐agonists. This assay was capable of detecting residues of a range of β‐agonists present in bovine urine without the need for sample extraction. The limits of detection of the assay ranged from 1 to 8.5 ng ml‐1 depending on the cross‐reactivity of individual compounds with the antibodies employed in the procedure.