Aflatoxin determination using in-line immunoaffinity chromatography in foods

Short throughput times with high precision and sensitivity are of interest of any laboratory. An in-line immunoaffinity chromatographic cleanup procedure coupled to High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and fluorescence detection was developed for the purpose of quantification of the aflatoxin content in food (peanuts, dried figs, and paprika powder). The analysis of the aflatoxin content was performed by HPLC equipped with an in-line immunoaffinity column and a Kobra cell for enhanced detection. Detection limits ranging from 0.14 to 0.32 ng/mL and quantification limits from 0.29 to 0.64 ng/mL were obtained. The trueness was evaluated by analyzing certified reference material and through spiking of aflatoxin reference solutions to food products. The recovery ranged from 75.7 to 92.9% for AFB1, 72.1 to 103.0 % for AFB2, 76.0 to 107.9 % for AFG1 and 82.1 to 103.3% for AFG2. The intra-day (RSDr) repeatability and inter-day (RSDR) reproducibility of measurements were calculated. Both were within the maximum values obtained from the Horwitz equation. The interference experiment showed no interference from other mycotoxins.

► Reversed-phase HPLC coupled with in-line IAC clean-up to determine aflatoxins in foods were developed. ► No interference from other mycotoxins indicates that the method was very specific to AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2. ► The method is suitable for aflatoxin determination in food and capable of providing useful and valid analytical data.