Functionalized nanofiber-based efficient sorbent for simultaneous extraction of multiple mycotoxins and its molecular...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Food Safety

Background:

• Mycotoxins are dangerous contaminants affecting public health and the economy.
• Existing detection methods may lack sensitivity or reusability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel functionalized nanofiber membrane for mycotoxin extraction.
• To create a sensitive and rapid analytical method for mycotoxin detection in food.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a dopamine-functionalized nanofiber membrane (PDA@PS/PAN-CNP NFM) via electrospinning.
• Utilizing the membrane as a nanofiber-packed solid-phase extraction (PFSPE) adsorbent.
• Coupling PFSPE with high-performance liquid chromatography and a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD).

Main Results:

• The PDA@PS/PAN-CNP NFM demonstrated excellent extraction performance for multiple mycotoxins.
• The developed HPLC-FLD method exhibited good linearity, high recovery (91.84%-99.12%), and precision (RSD < 6%).
• Low limits of detection (0.06-4.46 μg/kg) were achieved, and the extraction columns were reusable for 25 cycles.

Conclusions:

• The novel nanofiber membrane adsorbent shows significant potential for simultaneous mycotoxin determination.
• Molecular dynamics simulations provided insights into mycotoxin-adsorbent interactions.
• This method offers a sensitive, rapid, and reusable solution for mycotoxin analysis in various food matrices.