Use 3-D tomography to reveal structural modification of bentonite-enriched clay by nonionic surfactants: Application of organo-clay composites to detoxify aflatoxin B1 in chickens

[Display omitted] •Bentonite enriched clay (BEC) was modified with nonionic surfactants.•In situ 3-D micro-structures were developed using transmission X-ray microscopy.•Surfactant intercalation caused expansions in the inter-atomic spacing of BEC.•Micro-scaled dimensions of BEC decreased with increasing surfactant addition.•Surfactant modified BEC effectively detoxified AFB1 in chicken’s tissues. Although nonionic surfactants are relatively eco-friendly compared with cationic and anionic surfactants, few studies have investigated their application in modified clay. Herein we prepared organo-clay composites (OCCs) by mixing bentonite-enriched clay (BEC) with nonionic surfactants (Brij 30 and Igepal CO-890) and determined if these modifications would enable chickens to detoxify aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). For the first time, in situ three-dimensional (3-D) microstructures of modified BEC was characterized in suspension using transmission X-ray microscopy. Although X-ray diffraction patterns indicated the expansion in the spacing between planes of atoms (basal spacing) of surfactant-modified BEC, 3-D images indicated shrinkage in its microscale porous framework with increasing surfactant additions from 1 to 30 wt%. Such declining trends in porous dimensions caused by the dehydration in interlayer galleries of clays positively correlated with sorption amounts of AFB1 on OCCs. After chickens had consumed amended feeds for 11 weeks, AFB1 concentrations in liver, kidney, and plasma were significantly lower than in the control treatment. Thus, we suggest using BEC with 1 wt% surfactant addition, an amendment to chicken feeds, to detoxify AFB1. Modifying BEC with nonionic surfactants show the promise in mitigating AFB1 accumulation in chickens, which should improve food safety and reduce environmental contamination.