Current Applications of Magnetic Nanomaterials for Extraction of Mycotoxins,Pesticides, and Pharmaceuticals in Food Commodities

Environmental pollutants, such as mycotoxins, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals, are a group of contaminates that occur naturally, while others are produced from anthropogenic sources. With increased research on the adverse ecological and human health effects of these pollutants, there is an increasing need to regularly monitor their levels in food and the environment in order to ensure food safety and public health. The application of magnetic nanomaterials in the analyses of these pollutants could be promising and offers numerous advantages relative to conventional techniques. Due to their ability for the selective adsorption, and ease of separation as a result of magnetic susceptibility, surface modification, stability, cost-effectiveness, availability, and biodegradability, these unique magnetic nanomaterials exhibit great achievement in the improvement of the extraction of different analytes in food. On the other hand, conventional methods involve longer extraction procedures and utilize large quantities of environmentally unfriendly organic solvents. This review centers its attention on current applications of magnetic nanomaterials and their modifications in the extraction of pollutants in food commodities.     

Electron density of states at the edge of the valence band of Cd0.88Fe0.12Se—A photoemission yield study

The electronic structures of Cd_0.88Fe_0.12Se and CdSe have been investigated by photoemission yield spectroscopy (PYS) in the photon energy range from 5 to 12 eV. The () surfaces were obtained by cleavage under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. An Fe-related emission appeared at 0.58 eV above the valence band edge. The freshly cleaved surface of Cd_0.88Fe_0.12Se interacted with ambient atmosphere more strongly than CdSe crystal. Leaving the sample in an UHV chamber at room temperature enabled us to identify surface related features and to observe decrease of the ionization energy E_i, energy threshold E_d and the crystal affinity χ due to change of the surface conditions. Effective density of states, derived from the experimental spectra of Cd_0.88Fe_0.12Se exhibits, in contrast with CdSe, a surface-related feature degenerated with the bulk valence band.