Fumonisin B Determination in Maize Products from Belize Using an Immunosensor Based on Screen-Printed Carbon...

Area of Science:

• Food safety analysis
• Biosensor technology
• Mycotoxin detection

Background:

• Fumonisins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by Fusarium fungi, posing a significant threat to food safety.
• Accurate and rapid detection of fumonisins in food matrices like maize is crucial for public health.
• Current analytical methods for fumonisin determination are often complex, time-consuming, and require specialized equipment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a competitive electrochemical immunosensor for the simultaneous determination of total fumonisins (FB1, FB2, and FB3).
• To utilize screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) for a simple, rapid, and cost-effective mycotoxin detection method.
• To validate the developed immunosensor for analyzing fumonisins in maize flour and maize tortillas.

Main Methods:

• Development of a competitive electrochemical immunosensor based on SPCEs.
• Extraction of fumonisins using a simple solvent extraction and dilution method without a clean-up step.
• Optimization of the biosensor for linear range, reproducibility, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ).
• Validation of the immunosensor results using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Main Results:

• The optimized immunosensor demonstrated linear ranges of 0.25–50 µg/L for FB1 and 0.25–10 µg/L for total fumonisins (FB1 + FB2 + FB3).
• High reproducibility was achieved with 3% for FB1 and 2% for (FB1 + FB2) and (FB1 + FB2 + FB3).
• The LOD and LOQ for total fumonisins in PBS buffer were 0.12 µg/L and 0.39 µg/L, respectively, with matrix values of 6.07 µg/kg and 20.25 µg/kg in maize.
• The immunosensor showed good stability and selectivity, and was successfully validated against LC-MS/MS.

Conclusions:

• A novel, competitive electrochemical immunosensor was successfully developed for the rapid and sensitive determination of total fumonisins in maize-based food products.
• The developed biosensor offers a simpler, faster, and more cost-effective alternative to conventional methods, suitable for point-of-need applications.
• This technology has the potential to enhance food safety monitoring and reduce risks associated with fumonisin contamination.