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Keywords

mycotoxins, Raman Spectroscopy, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, corn

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Mycotoxin contamination on food and feed can have deleterious effect on human and animal health. Agricultural crops may contain one or more mycotoxin compounds; therefore, a good multiplex detection method is desirable to ensure food safety. In this study, we developed a rapid method using label-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to simultaneously detect three common types of mycotoxins found on corn, namely aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZEN), and ochratoxin A (OTA).

Methods: A SERS nanosubstrate was applied on the agricultural crop (i.e., corn) and mixed briefly with mycotoxins present on the surface. Raman spectral data were acquired using a Raman microscope equipped with a 785 nm laser.

Results: The intrinsic chemical fingerprint from each mycotoxin was characterized by their unique Raman spectra, enabling clear discrimination between them. The limit of detection (LOD) of AFB1, ZEN, and OTA on corn were 10 ppb (32 nM), 20 ppb (64 nM), and 100 ppb (248 nM), respectively. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to predict concentrations of AFB1, ZEN, and OTA up to 1.5 ppm (4.8 μM) based on the SERS spectra of known concentrations, resulting in a correlation coefficient of 0.74, 0.89, and 0.72, respectively. The sampling time was less than 30 min per sample.

Significance: This study demonstrates the promising application of this method for rapid and simultaneous detection of multiple mycotoxins on corn, which may be extended to detecting other types of mycotoxins in food and feed, as well as to detecting mycotoxins in other settings, such as water or soil.

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

2024-03-21

Language

English

College

Life Sciences

Department

Microbiology and Molecular Biology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Junior

Advancing Mycotoxin Detection: Multivariate Rapid Analysis on Corn using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)

Included in

Microbiology Commons

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