Simultaneous determination of fumonisin B and B in maize using a facile online pre-column derivatization HPLC method.

A rapid, sensitive and reliable analytical method for the simultaneous determination of fumonisin B (FB) and fumonisin B (FB) was developed and optimised using high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) coupled with online pre-column derivatization using o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) and 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME). This study focused on the optimisation of the online pre-column derivatization procedure, HPLC parameters, and sample pre-treatment. FB and FB in maize were extracted and purified using immunoaffinity column (IAC) and derived with OPA at room temperature. The OPA reagent was stable for 7 days, and OPA-derivatised products for 15 min. The excitation and emission wavelengths were 335 nm and 440 nm, respectively. Chromatography was performed using a C18 column and gradient elution at 1.0 mL min with acetonitrile and 0.1% acetic acid at pH 3.21. The LOD values of FB and FB were 0.10 and 0.26 mg kg, respectively, comparable with or lower than those in other reports. The recoveries of FB and FB were between 85.6%-119.2%. The presented method is time-saving and robust, and successfully applied in determining FB and FB in maize.