Studii şi Cercetări Ştiinţifice Chimie şi Inginerie Chimică, Biotehnologii, Industrie Alimentară 2018, 19 (2), pp. 133 – 141 ISSN 1582-540X Scientific Study & Research Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Food Industry © 2018 ALMA MATER Publishing House, “VASILE ALECSANDRI” University of Bacău. All rights reserved. 133 ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER DETERMINATION OF AFLATOXINS IN RICE USING QUECHERS AND FLUORESCENCE HPLC Ahmed Gotah, Key Whang, Coralia V. Garcia * Keimyung University, Department of Food Science & Technology, Daegu 42601, South Korea *Corresponding author: cvvgarcia@kmu.ac.kr Received: June, 09, 2017 Accepted: February, 05, 2018 Abstract: This study presents the determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 in rice, applying a QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). The objective of the proposed method is a fast, inexpensive, and easy analysis of aflatoxins. The aflatoxins were separated on a C18 column by isocratic elution with water: methanol: acetonitrile (65 : 25 : 10, v/v/v), and detection was achieved at excitation/emission wavelengths of 360/450 nm, without derivatization. The calibration curves showed good linearity (R 2 > 0.99), and the limits of detection and quantification were ≤ 6 and ≤ 8 µg·kg -1 , respectively. Average intraday and interday recoveries were in the range 104 - 119 % and 104 - 113 % with RSD % ≤ 12 % for concentrations between 6 - 20 µg·kg -1 . The proposed method was tested on rice samples sold on markets, of which none exhibited presence of aflatoxins. Keywords: HPLC-FLD, mycotoxins, Oryza sativa, xenobiotics