Determination of trace amounts of ochratoxin A in different food samples based on gold nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode.

In the present study, a carbon paste electrode chemically modified with gold nanoparticles was used as a sensitive electrochemical sensor for determination of ochratoxin A. The differential pulse voltammetric method was employed to study the behavior of ochratoxin A on this modified electrode. The effect of variables such as percent of gold nanoparticles, pH of sample solution, accumulation potential and time on voltammogram peak current were optimized. The proposed electrode showed good oxidation response for ochratoxin A in 0.1 mol L(-1) PBS (pH 7.2) and the peak potential was about +0.8 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The peak current increased linearly with the ochratoxin A concentration in the range of 0.5-100 nM. The detection limit was found to be 0.2 nM and the relative standard deviation was 6.2 % (n = 7). The method has been applied to the determination of ochratoxin A in cereal derived products such as breakfast cereals, cereal-based baby foods and beer samples.