Mycotoxins-Imprinted Polymers: A State-of-the-Art Review

Abstract

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites of molds which can contaminate food and beverages. Because of their acute and chronic toxicity, they can have harmful effects when ingested or inhaled, posing severe risks to human health. Contemporary analytical methods have the sensitivity required for contamination detection and quantification, but the direct application of these methods on real samples is not straightforward because of matrix complexity, and clean-up and preconcentration steps are needed, more and more requiring the application of highly selective solid-phase extraction materials. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are artificial receptors mimicking the natural antibodies that are increasingly being used as a solid phase in extraction methods where selectivity towards target analytes is mandatory. In this review, the state-of-the-art about molecularly imprinted polymers as solid-phase extraction materials in mycotoxin contamination analysis will be discussed, with particular attention paid to the use of mimic molecules in the synthesis of mycotoxin-imprinted materials, to the application of these materials to food real samples, and to the development of advanced extraction methods involving molecular imprinting technology.

Comprehensive Insights into Ochratoxin A: Occurrence, Analysis, and Control Strategies

“…Four absorbents (activated carbon, amorphous graphite, graphitized carbon black, and octadecylsilane) suitable for SPE columns have been evaluated by Prakasham et al [121], who concluded that the best matrix for cleaning samples is activated carbon. However, immunoaffinity columns represent an effective and robust tool for mycotoxin cleanup, but the prediction is that soon, molecularly imprinted polymers will be competitive with immunoaffinity-based materials [128,129].…”