Determination of 42 mycotoxins in oats using a mechanically assisted QuEChERS sample preparation and UHPLC-MS/MS detection

Authors: DE COLLLI, L - Queen'S University - Ireland; ELLIOT, C - Queens University - United Kingdom; FINNAN, J - Teagasc (AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY); GRANT, J - Teagasc (AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY); ARENDT, E - National University Of Ireland; McCormick, Susan; DANAHER, M - Teagasc (AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY)

Submitted to: The Journal of Chromatography B: Biomedical Applications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2020
Publication Date: 5/22/2020
Citation: De Collli, L., Elliot, C., Finnan, J., Grant, J., Arendt, E.K., McCormick, S.P., Danaher, M. 2020. Determination of 42 mycotoxins in oats using a mechanically assisted QuEChERS sample preparation and UHPLC-MS/MS detection. The Journal of Chromatography B: Biomedical Applications. 1150:122187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2020.122187.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2020.122187

Interpretive Summary: In this research we developed a method for measuring mycotoxins in oats. Fusarium and Aspergillus fungi can contaminate oats and other cereal crops with mycotoxins including aflatoxin, fumonisin, zearalenone, vomitoxin, patulin, and ochratoxin, all of which have regulatory or advisory levels in the U.S. and Europe. In order to insure a safe food supply, reliable methods are needed to detect and accurately measure these mycotoxins as well as other toxins produced by these fungi. In this study, a high-throughput method was developed to accurately measure forty-two different mycotoxins. This method can be applied to risk assessment analyses of other fungal toxins that are found in cereals.

Technical Abstract: A method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 42 mycotoxins in oats. The method includes all the mycotoxins listed under Commission Regulation (EC) 1881/2006 (aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2; fumonisin B1 and B2; deoxynivalenol; zearalenone; ochratoxin A and patulin) and Commission Recommendation 165/2013 (T-2 and HT-2 toxins), the emerging mycotoxins (such as beauvericin, alternariol, alternariol-methyl-ether and the enniatins), and two masked metabolites, namely deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside and T-2-glucoside. The method also focuses on a wide range of analytes that were selected based on available data on their toxicological interest. The sample preparation involved extraction with an aqueous acetic acid solution and acetonitrile, followed by QuEChERS with mechanically assisted vibrational shaking. No further clean-up steps were employed, and analysis was performed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Trueness ranged between 78% and 158%, while precision ranged from 1.7% to 49.9% under within-laboratory reproducibility conditions. Beside the high degree of accuracy and sample throughput provided, the method can be applied to a large number of compounds currently not regulated, thus generating knowledge needed for risk assessment purposes.