Postcolumn excitation of aflatoxins using cyclodextrins in liquid chromatography for food analysis

J Chromatogr A. 1996 Jan 15;721(1):69-74. doi: 10.1016/0021-9673(95)00566-8.

Abstract

Measurement of fluorescence increase was used for the comparative quantification of the effect that several cyclodextrins (alpha-, beta-, heptakis-2,6-beta-omicron-dimethyl- and gamma-) produce on the fluorescent response of aflatoxins B1 and G1. This constitutes a new chromatographic method with stability of the mobile phase, and shows general improvements in the chromatographic conditions with respect to other methods (especially those using an iodine reservoir as a postcolumn reactor). A C18-type column was used, with methanol-water (60:40, v/v) as the mobile phase. The excitation phase of the natural fluorescence of aflatoxins, a 10(-2) M solution of each cyclodextrin, was introduced postcolumn. The determination of the elution order aflatoxin G2 > G1 > B2 > B1 was performed for each phase in less than 15 min. As expected using an aqueous-alcoholic medium, an increase in the fluorescence response of aflatoxins with an unsaturated furanic ring was found to occur with all the cyclodextrins studied, except gamma-cyclodextrin. The observed increase was larger for heptakis-2,6-beta-omicron-dimethyl- than for beta-cyclodextrin (to our knowledge, the only cyclodextrin previously described in the literature to serve for the determination of aflatoxins). The difference is of the order of 70.1-fold in the case of aflatoxin G1 and 45.2-fold in the case of aflatoxin B1. The detection limit in the mobile phase used was determined (for aflatoxin B1) for beta-cyclodextrin and 2,6-beta-omicron-dimethylcyclodextrin (signal-to-noise ratio 1:3) to be 4 and 9 mg 1(-1), respectively.

MeSH terms

  • Aflatoxin B1 / analysis
  • Aflatoxins / analysis*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / statistics & numerical data
  • Cyclodextrins*
  • Fluorescence
  • Food Analysis / methods*
  • Food Contamination
  • beta-Cyclodextrins*

Substances

  • Aflatoxins
  • Cyclodextrins
  • beta-Cyclodextrins
  • aflatoxin G1
  • heptakis(2,6-O-dimethyl)beta-cyclodextrin
  • Aflatoxin B1
  • betadex