Mycotoxins
are toxic contaminants in foods and feeds that are naturally
occurring and largely unavoidable. Determining their contents in these
products is essential to protect humans from harm. Immunoassays of
mycotoxins have been well-established because they are fast, sensitive,
simple, and cost-effective. However, a major limitation of immunoassays
is the requirement of toxic mycotoxins as competing antigens, standards,
or competing tracers. Mimotopes are peptides or proteins that can
specifically bind to antibodies and compete with analytes for binding
sites by mimicking antigenic epitopes. They can be employed as substitutes
for competing antigens, standards, or competing tracers to avoid use
of mycotoxins. This review summarizes the production and functionalization
of the two main kinds of mimotopes, mimic peptides and anti-idiotypic
antibodies (Ab2), and their applications in rapid analysis of mycotoxins.
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