A portable fluorometer for the rapid screening of M1 aflatoxin

A compact fluorometric sensor equipped with a LED source and a high sensitivity PMT detector was implemented for the selective detection of native fluorescence of aflatoxin AFM1 in liquid solutions. This compact and easy-to-handle device is intended for the rapid monitoring of AFM1 in milk, enabling the detection of concentrations up to the legal limit, which is 50 ppt. The additional use of a cyclodextrin-based fluorescence enhancer is also investigated, for the purpose of improving the instrumental sensitivity. The system is suitable for preliminary screening at the earlier stages of the industrial process, and makes it possible to discard contaminated milk stocks before their inclusion in the production chain.