Application of magnetic solid phase extraction for separation and determination of aflatoxins B1 and B2 in cereal products by high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection

A simple and sensitive method based on the magnetic solid phase extraction with modified magnetic nanoparticles followed by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection has been developed for extraction and determination of aflatoxins B1 (AFB1) and B2 (AFB2) in cereal products. Magnetic nanoparticle coated with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-1-propanthiol (TMSPT) and modified with 2-amino-5-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (AMT) was used as an antibody-free adsorbent. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curves for AFB1 and AFB2 were linear in the ranges of 0.2–15 μg L−1 and 0.04–3 μg L−1, respectively. Detection limit was 0.041 μg L−1 for AFB1 and 0.013 μg L−1 for AFB2. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of AFB1 and AFB2 in spiked corn and rice samples with an average recovery of 93.5%. The results demonstrated that the developed method is simple, rapid, inexpensive, accurate and remarkably free from interference effects.