Rapid analysis of aflatoxins B1, B2, and ochratoxin A in rice samples using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with HPLC

A novel, simple, and rapid method is presented for the analysis of aflatoxin B-1, aflatoxin B-2, and ochratoxin A in rice samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with LC and fluorescence detection. After extraction of the rice samples with a mixture of acetonitrile/water/acetic acid, mycotoxins were rapidly partitioned into a small volume of organic solvent (chloroform) by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction. The three mycotoxins were simultaneously determined by LC with fluorescence detection after precolumn derivatization for aflatoxin B-1 and B-2. Parameters affecting both extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedures, including the extraction solvent, the type and volume of extractant, the volume of dispersive solvent, the addition of salt, the pH and the extraction time, were optimized. The optimized protocol provided an enrichment factor of approximately 1.25 and with detection of limits (0.06-0.5 g/kg) below the maximum levels imposed by current regulations for aflatoxins and ochratoxin A. The mean recovery of three mycotoxins ranged from 82.9-112%, with a RSD less than 7.9% in all cases. The method was successfully applied to measure mycotoxins in commercial rice samples collected from local supermarkets in China.