Rapid and homologous immunoassay for the detection of herbicide propisochlor in water

The herbicide propisochlor can be introduced into the water cycle via agricultural activities, thus possibly leading to harmful ecological effects. It is significant for the development of a rapid method for propisochlor analysis in water. In this work, a rapid homogeneous immunoassay based on fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) was firstly developed for the determination of propisochlor in pond water. The developed FPIA assay can be completed within only 14 min; the 50% inhibition concentration (IC₅₀) was 125.1 ng/mL and the limit of detection was 8.4 ng/mL. The recoveries of propisochlor in pond water ranged from 80.0% to 86.6%. A high performance liquid chromatography confirmation showed a good correlation with the developed FPIA (R² = 0.9748). The developed FPIA exhibited satisfactory rapidity, high sensitivity and excellent specificity, meeting the standards of the screening assay of propisochlor in pond water on site. The molecular modeling showed that the alkoxyalkyl of chloroacetamide herbicides exerted important effects on the herbicide–antibody binding.