Blueberry (BB) and cherry pomace were investigated as new biosorbents for aflatoxins (AFs) sequestration from buffered solutions, gastrointestinal fluids and model wine. Among the tested biosorbents, BB exhibited the maximum adsorption performance for AFs and hence was further selected for the optimization of experimental parameters like pH, dosage, time and initial concentration of AFs. Material characterizations via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption isothermal studies, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) techniques revealed useful information about the texture and chemical composition of the biosorbents. The fitting of isothermal data with different models showed the model suitability trend as: Sips model > Langmuir model > Freundlich model, where the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity calculated from the Sips model was 4.6, 2.9, 2.7 and 2.4 mg/g for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2, respectively. Kinetics study revealed the fast AFs uptake by BB (50-90 min) while thermodynamics studies suggested the exothermic nature of the AFs adsorption from both, single as well as multi-toxin buffer systems, gastrointestinal fluids and model wine. Accrediting to the fast and efficient adsorption performance, green and facile fabrication approach and cost-effectiveness, the newly designed BB pomace can be counted as a promising contender for the sequestration of AFs and other organic pollutants.
Keywords: Aflatoxin; adsorption isotherm; blueberry biosorbent; gastrointestinal fluid; model wine; textural characterization.