Determination of aflatoxins B1 and B2 by adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry in groundnut

In this study, adsorptive stripping voltammetry was proposed for determination of aflatoxins B1 (AFB1) and B2 (AFB2) using hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) as the working electrode. Both aflatoxins were found to adsorb and undergo irreversible reduction reaction at the working mercury electrode. The experimental conditions were optimised by one-at-a time and experimental design to obtain the best characterised peak in terms of peak height with analytical validation of the method for each aflatoxin. The calibration curves for aflatoxins AFB1 and AFB2 were linear in the ranges of 0.4–40 ng ml⁻¹ and 0.2–70 ng ml⁻¹ with the limit of detections (LOD) 0.15 and 0.10 ng ml⁻¹, respectively. The proposed method was applied for the analysis of aflatoxins in groundnut samples and the results were compared with those obtained by the HPLC technique.