Aflatoxins are highly carcinogenic compounds produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus. Aspergillus flavus is a phytopathogenic fungus that commonly infects crops such as cotton, peanuts, and maize. The goal of this research was to design an effective method for sample preparation and analysis of aflatoxin B1 from Aspergillus flavus infected maize kernels. The method involves liquid extraction with a methanol/water solution. The samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) operating in positive ion multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The spiked levels for the recovery experiment were 4 ppb and 20 ppb, respectively. Recoveries ranged between 72% and 113% (90.8% average), with Relative Standard Deviation below 15% (10.6% on average).
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