Synthesis of a core–shell magnetic covalent organic framework for the enrichment and detection of aflatoxin in food using HPLC-MS/MS

A porous magnetic covalent organic framework, Fe 3 O 4 @TPBD-TPA (terephthalaldehyde (TPA) , N , N , N ′, N ′-tetrakis( p -aminophenyl)- p -phenylenediamine (TPBD)), was synthesized using the Schiff base reaction under mild reaction conditions. This adsorbent exhibited excellent adsorption performance for aflatoxins. The adsorption capacity of Fe 3 O 4 @TPBD-TPA for aflatoxins ranged from 64.4 to 84.4 mg/g. A magnetic solid-phase extraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method based on Fe 3 O 4 @TPBD-TPA was developed for the efficient determination of four types of aflatoxins in food samples (maize, maize oil, peanut, and peanut oil). The determination coefficients ( R 2 ) were ≥0.9972. The method exhibited detection limits ranging from 0.01 to 0.06 μg/kg and spiked recoveries of 80.0 to 113.1%. The intra-day and inter-day precision were less than 6.77%, indicating good repeatability. The adsorbent showed promising prospects for the efficient enrichment of trace amounts of aflatoxins in complex food matrices. Graphical Abstract