DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENZYME-IMMUNOASSAY FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE INSECTICIDE PYMETROZINE

Pymetrozine (CGA 215 944) is a selective insecticide against plant suc king pests. Polyclonal antibodies were raised in rabbits against two p ymetrozine related compounds conjugated to BSA. The antisera produced against one of the two compounds led to development of a competitive E nzyme Immune Assay (EIA) against pymetrozine with high precision and a ccuracy and a detection limit of 50 ng of pymetrozine per g of plant f resh weight. Only a weak cross-reactivity was obtained with pymetrozin e metabolites. Plant extracts produced a background corresponding to 1 0-30 ng equivalents of pymetrozine per g fresh weight. The detection l imit was set above this background noise at 50 ng/g fresh weight. In o ther systems or following other extraction protocols the detection may yet be below this limit.