Development of antibodies against hydroxyatrazine and hydroxysimazine: Application to environmental samples

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) selective for hydroxyatrazine and hydroxysimazine was developed an a means of monitoring environmental and microbial degradation of atrazine to hydroxyatrazine. This ELISA was tolerant to solvents, salts, and pH changes and functioned well in a series of matrices (water, soil, horse manure, urine, and fungal extracts). In preliminary bioremediation studies conducted in a drum impervious to UV light, the microbes endogenous to horse manure converted approximately 1 % of the total initial amount of atrazine to hydroxyatrazine. Also, a UV-resistant strain of white rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) was tested for its ability to degrade atrazine. Using the ELISA described here, approximately half of the time zero amount of atrazine (2 μg/35-mm Petri dish) was gone in 1 day and essentially all of the atrazine was converted to hydroxyatrazine, primarily due to UV irradiation. This ELISA provided a valuable method to quantify hydroxyatrazine and hydroxysimazine in a series of traditionally difficult matrices for the investigation of the bioremediation of atrazine.