Simultaneous determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, and M1 in dairy products by high-performance liquid chromatography/fluorescence
Abstract
An analytical method based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection (HPLC–FLD) was developed for the simultaneous quantification of five aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2, and M1) in dairy products. The extraction and HPLC separation parameters of the analytes were optimized. The ultrasonically homogenized samples were extracted using 84% (v/v) acetonitrile aqueous solution. The samples were purified using a Mycosep®226 Aflazon+ multi-functional purification column. After filtration and concentration, the analytes were separated using a DIKMA Diamonsil-C18(2) column (4.6 mm × 150 mm, 5 μm) and then eluted with methanol/acetonitrile (4 : 7)–water for analysis. Aflatoxins were separated by elution with a retention time of 20 min. The LOQ of selected analytes ranged from 0.07 μg kg−1 to 0.43 μg kg−1. Moreover, high correlation coefficients (r2 > 0.999) were obtained for the five aflatoxins within the respective linear range of 0.06–40.6 ng mL−1. In addition, the recovery rate was within 82.8–104.5%. Given its simple pretreatment, rapid determination, and high sensitivity, the proposed quantitative method can be successfully used to determine and quantify aflatoxin contaminants in complex matrices.