High-performance Liquid Chromatography of Aflatoxins with Fluorescence Detection

Abstract

Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 were quantitatively detected by high-performance liquid chromatography on a 12 µI flow-cell in the fluorometric detector using the mobile phase of toluene system instead of chloroform, dichloromethane or methanol system. Various kinds of columns and mobile phases were tested, and fine mutual separation of all the four aflatoxins without quenching their fluorescence was achieved by using silica gel column and tolueneethyl acetate-formic acid-methanol (89.0: 7.5: 2.0: 1.5v/v/v/v). The relationship between the fluorescence peak area and the amount injected was linear in the range of 0.3ng to 120ng. This method, as applied to food and feed extracts, is sensitive at the 10~20 ppb levels of the four kinds of aflatoxins. © 1978, Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry. All rights reserved.