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Determination of total aflatoxin using cysteamine-capped CdS quantum dots as a fluorescence probe

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Abstract

Aflatoxins form a class of potent carcinogens that contaminate a wide range of food products and can be fatal to humans and livestock. We have designed cysteamine-capped CdS quantum dots (QDs) to serve as aflatoxin photodetectors for use in agricultural industries. Water-soluble CdS QDs are synthesized through growth in a poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix using a chemical precipitation method. The prepared QDs are then characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses. The obtained results revealed that these CdS QDs have a 1- to 2-nm crystalline size, hexagonal wurtzite structure, and spherical morphology with a diameter less than 10 nm. Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) is performed to study the CdS QDs interactions with a standard solution of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, and G2 in a ratio of 5:1:5:1) in order to determine their effectiveness as aflatoxin detectors. A green emission peak is observed at 508 nm, with an intensity enhancement positively correlated with total aflatoxin concentration. The lower limit of detection for total aflatoxin concentration is found to be 0.05 ppb, well below international contamination allowances for food products. PL variations with aflatoxin concentration are best described by a Langmuir-type equation in the concentration range of this study (2.4–48 ppb).

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Professor Farzaneh Vahabzadeh for the provision of laboratory facilities and for her support throughout this project.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran

      Mahnoush Tayebi, Mohammad Tavakkoli Yaraki & Mahnaz Ahmadieh

    2. Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, 53233, WI, USA

      Mohammadreza Tahriri & Lobat Tayebi

    3. Dental Biomaterials Department, School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

      Mohammadreza Tahriri

    4. Biomaterials Group, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran

      Mohammadreza Tahriri

    5. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, 27606, NC, USA

      Daryoosh Vashaee

    6. Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PJ, UK

      Lobat Tayebi

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    1. Mahnoush Tayebi
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    Correspondence to Mohammad Tavakkoli Yaraki or Mohammadreza Tahriri.

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    Mahnoush Tayebi and Mohammad Tavakkoli Yaraki contributed equally to this work.

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    Tayebi, M., Tavakkoli Yaraki, M., Ahmadieh, M. et al. Determination of total aflatoxin using cysteamine-capped CdS quantum dots as a fluorescence probe. Colloid Polym Sci 294, 1453–1462 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-016-3903-x

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