Magnetic nanostructured agents for the mitigation of mycotoxins and cyanotoxins in the food chain

• Published in: Food chemistry 2024-10, Vol.456, p.140004, Article 140004
• Main Authors: González-Jartín, Jesús M., de Castro Alves, Lisandra, Piñeiro, Y., Alfonso, Amparo, Alvariño, Rebeca, Gomez, Manuel González, Vieytes, Mercedes R., Rivas, J., Botana, Luis M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agro-food safety; Natural toxin; Remediation; Risk management
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.140004

Natural toxins, such as mycotoxins and cyanotoxins, can contaminate food and feed, leading to toxicity in humans and animals. This study focused on using nine magnetic nanostructured agents to remove the main types of toxins. Initially, the efficacy of these materials was evaluated in water solutions, revealing that composites with sizes below 3 mm, containing magnetite, activated carbon, esterified pectin, and sodium alginate, removed up to 90% of mycotoxins and cyanotoxins with an adsorption of 873 ng/g. The application of the nanostructures was then assessed in beer, milk, Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles and water contaminated with cyanobacteria. The presence of matrix slightly decreases the adsorption capacity for some toxins. The maximum toxin removal capacity was calculated with cyanotoxins, composites achieved a removal of up to 0.12 mg/g, while nanocomposites (15 μm) reached 36.6 mg/g. Therefore, these findings point out the potential for using nanotechnology in addressing natural toxins contamination. •A methodology for extracting natural toxins was validated across multiple matrices•The efficacy of ten nanostructures as toxin adsorbents was tested•Nanostructures enable the removal of up to 90% of mycotoxins and cyanotoxins•The maximum adsorption reached was 36.6 mg/g