Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2012
Poster Presentation
Evaluation of Solid Phase Extraction Sorbents for Determination of Aflatoxin B1
in Corn Product by HPLC UV detection
Amanda Vanoskey and Samantha Fitzgerald
Faculty Mentor: Hongxia Guan
Chemistry
Aflatoxins are naturally occurring mycotoxins that are very toxic and among one of the
most carcinogenic substances known. Aflatoxins are usually produced by certain
strains of fungi: Aspergillus flavus, and A. parasiticus. Aflatoxin B1 is the most
common and most toxic aflatoxin. Peanuts, nuts, corn, and oil seeds are crops
commonly affected. Contamination usually occurs before harvest and during storage.
High moisture conditions are usually the main cause of the growth of aflatoxins and the
liver is usually the main target of aflatoxicosis in both humans and animals alike.
Traditional methods for extraction of aflatoxin B1(AFB1)are based on immune-affinity
sample cleanup followed by liquid chromatography (LC) or capillary electrophoresis
(CE) analysis. These sample preparation methods, however, are expensive, require
many steps, and increase analysis time. Disposable pipette extraction is a fairly new
SPE technique, and has been applied for food safety monitoring. The DPX
methodology presented here incorporates styrene divinyl benzene (SDVB) for selective
extraction of AFB1 in corn products with satisfying accuracy and precision for extraction
of aflatoxins. The chromatographic anaylsis of aflatoxins was accomplished using a C18
column eluted with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol, acetonitrile and
water. The proposed method is rapid, simple and accurate for monitoring aflatoxins in
corn products.