| Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), the major hydroxylated metabolite of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), is considered possibly carcinogenic. It is primarily excreted through the milk and urine of animals that have consumed aflatoxin B1 contaminated feed. Overall, brief exposure to aflatoxins from the diet can lead to disease and death in humans. Since animal milk is utilized for the production of dairy products, the consumption of milk, by humans, provides a direct exposure route for the intake of aflatoxin M1. Because of this, there is a constant need to monitor the AFM 1 content in milk via an uncomplicated method that is both quick and reliable.;Proposed here is an alternative to the numerous enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) techniques currently employed for the extraction of AFM1 from milk. The proposed disposable pipette extraction (DPX) method provided several advantages over these conventional techniques, such as reliability at low concentrations, along with a reduction in time and total organic solvent volume necessary for the extraction process. Upon development of a DPX method, samples were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection. An elution solvent study, followed by a DPX sorbent study, allowed for maximum analyte recovery; accuracy was shown to be greater than 82%. Lastly, a calibration study, which displayed an R² value of 0.9961, was performed along with other forms of method validation. High precision was shown through relative standard deviations which were lower than 6.76%. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 2.14 ppb and 6.49 ppb, respectively. |
