Rapid Screening of Emergent Febuxostat Adulteration in Functional Foods Based on a Simulation-Inspired High-Quality Antibody

Due to the potential health risks of adulterated febuxostat in uric-acid-lowering foods, it is urgent to develop rapid detection methods. However, there are no fast analytical techniques for febuxostat yet. Herein, an efficient hapten simulation strategy was proposed to successfully produce a highly sensitive and selective monoclonal antibody toward febuxostat. Based on such a robust recognition element, easy colorimetric and ultrasensitive fluorescent lateral flow immunochromatographic immunoassays were first established, which can detect febuxostat as low as 60 μg/kg by the naked eye or 1.01 μg/kg by a commercial test strip reader with acceptable stability. Furthermore, in the recovery test and blind sample analysis, consistent results between our methods and the authorized liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method suggested the high accuracy and practicality of this work. The present work not only proposes a rational hapten design idea but also provides favorable tools for the rapid screening of febuxostat in functional foods.