Determination of Zearalenol and Zearalenone Using Electrochemical Detection

Abstract
A method is described for the determination of zearalenol and zearalenone in corn using electrochemical detection. the sample is extracted with chloroform, and the extract is cleaned up by liquid-liquid partition. Zearalenol and zearalenone are resolved by liquid chromatography (LC), using a C18 column and a mobile phase consisting of 35 + 25 + 40 CH3 CN + MeOH + H2O and 0.02 mole/L sodium acetate buffered at pH 6.5. Zearalenol and zearalenone were detected with an electrochemical detector at an applied potential of +0.95V vs Ag/AgCl. Average recoveries of zearalenol and zearalenone in corn samples spiked at levels of 25–1000 ng/g were 104,2 and 97.5%, respectively. the coefficients of variation for the proposed method were 10.8% for zearalenol and 8.8% for zearalenone.