*1.2. Analytical Methods for Zearalenone Determination*

There are numerous well-established methods for quantification of ZON, varying in their technical detail (e.g., sample preparation, principle of the analytical procedure) according to the complexity of the target matrix and other circumstances. Analytical methods for detection include colorimetric and fluorescence-based strategies (e.g., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA), chromatographic methods, and enzyme-linked oligonucleotide assays [39]. Traditional chromatographic separation, e.g., high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [40–42], thin layer chromatography (TLC) [43–45], and liquid or gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy (LC or GC MS) [46–49] have low limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values but, usually, due to the complex sample preparation they are time consuming technologies requiring special instrumentation. Immunoanalytical techniques are cost-effective and suitable for rapid monitoring with detecting multiple samples at the same time [50–53]. Within this category, ELISA is the most prevailing method [54–61]. Through the advancement of the immunoanalytical techniques, analytical sensitivities increased and LOD and LOQ values dropped to the same level as those for chromatographic methods. Among immunoanalytical methods, immunosensors represent innovative and more sensitive analytical determination techniques than microplate- or immunostrip-based detection [62–68].

Project Aquafluosense (NVKP\_16-1-2016-0049) [69] aims to develop a new water analysis system for natural and artificial waters, allowing complex, systematic and in situ fluorescence-based assessment and monitoring of water quality. The modular instrument family developed for main parameters (chlorophyll-a content, chemical and biochemical oxygen demands, total organic carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and certain agricultural pollutant contents) can be individually configured for target tasks at each monitoring point. Within the project, we aimed to develop an enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay (ELFIA) module for monitoring and quantification of ZON.
