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Submitted to: Luminescence
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/2011 Publication Date: 6/7/2011 Citation: Appell, M.D. 2011. Study of the effect of surfactants on spectrofluorimetric analysis of zearalenone. Luminescence. 131(11):2330–2334. Interpretive Summary: Zearalenone is an estrogenic toxin produced by fungi that can contaminate agricultural commodities, including corn. Several useful approaches to determine levels of this mycotoxin in agricultural commodities are based on detecting the intrinsic fluorescence of zearalenone. There is a need for materials to enhance the fluorescence detection of zearalenone under aqueous conditions. This research reports the effectiveness of surfactants to improve detection of zearalenone. Results from this study are a valuable resource for the application of surfactants in new analytical methods to detect zearalenone by fluorescence. Technical Abstract: Zearalenone is an estrogenic mycotoxin with potential to contaminate a variety of agricultural commodities, including corn. The influence of structurally diverse surfactants on the fluorescence spectroscopic properties of zearalenone was investigated as a means to improve zearalenone detection in water. Anionic, non-ionic, and cationic surfactants at concentrations above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) provide an enhancement of the fluorescence detection of zearalenone under aqueous conditions. Triton X-100 gave the greatest enhancement of the surfactants examined in this study. Sodium cholate and Triton X-100 exhibit quenching effects at surfactant concentrations significantly higher than the critical micelle concentration. Application of these surfactants offers a new approach to develop analytical methods for zearalenone detection under aqueous conditions. |
