Simultaneous detection of tetracycline and aflatoxin M1 using constructing Janus particles functionalized by...

At present, aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and tetracycline (TC) have caused contamination to milk. Therefore, simultaneous detection of these two compounds is of certain significance in the field of food safety. A dual-functional Janus-MIP-Apt materials featuring boronic acid-affinitive molecularly imprinted sites and aptamer (Apt) recognition has been designed for the simultaneous detection of TC and AFM1. Owing to the anisotropy of Janus, molecularly imprinted sites facilitate TC recognition via hydrophobic interactions, π-π stacking, and boronic acid affinity, while AFM1 recognition is achieved through an immobilized Apt. Thus, Janus-MIP-Apt exhibits high adsorption capacity and favorable selectivity for both TC and AFM1, serving as an effective solid-phase extraction (SPE) adsorbent for subsequent liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. In this study, a method integrating SPE with LC-MS/MS was developed using Janus-MIP-Apt as the adsorbent for detecting TC and AFM1 in milk. This method demonstrates a broad linear range, satisfactory recoveries (86.7 - 105.8 %), and limits of detection were 0.1 μg/L (TC) and 0.2 μg/L (AFM1).