Competitive ELISA for the detection and quantification of Mycobacterium ulcerans mycolactone

Lipids and other hydrophobic analytes are difficult to quantify by routine immunoassays due to the need to use aqueous buffers. Here, we describe an ELISA protocol suitable for the detection of mycolactone, the polyketide toxin of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer (BU). Given that mycolactone is unique to this species and has been found in all M. ulcerans lineages, the assay herein described has the potential to be useful both as a research tool and as a diagnostic test, even in low-resource BU endemic regions. Furthermore, the triethanolamine buffer described here may also be useful in the specific detection of other lipid analytes by ELISA.