Targeted recognition and preferential degradation of aflatoxin B₁ in peanut oil by imprinted photocatalyst

Controlling aflatoxins contamination is significant for the safety of edible oil, yet confronts the inherent contradiction between detoxification efficiency and quality preservation. Herein, the targeted recognition and preferential degradation of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) in peanut oil were realized by the molecularly imprinted polymers decorated defective Bi₂WO₆ (MIP-BWO). Integrating the merits of sufficient recognition cavities and enhanced photoelectrochemical property, MIP-BWO could selectively adsorb 28.6 % of AFB₁ within 60 min, and acquire an ultimate removal rate of 99.5 % after irradiation for 80 min. As a consequence, the degradation products of AFB₁ exhibited a sharply reduced toxicity to IEC-6 and HepG2 cells, along with the maintained quality of peanut oil, including acid value, peroxide value, fatty acids, Vitamin E, and resveratrol. Systematic tests and DFT calculations revealed that the adsorption process of AFB₁ conformed to a chemisorption-dominated Langmuir model (R² = 0.999), whereas its degradation was mediated by •O₂^- and ¹O₂. Moreover, based on 11 intermediates identified by LC-MS, a plausible degradation pathway was proposed, which began with the attack of electronegative sites, followed by the steps of oxidative dissociation and electrophilic addition. This study paves a feasible strategy to selectively eliminate AFB₁, address the contradiction between detoxification and quality preservation.