Simultaneous analysis of Alternaria toxins and citrinin in tomato: an optimized method using liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry

Alternaria toxins and citrinin are mycotoxins produced by fungi growing on agricultural commodities. Maximum levels for these toxins in foods are currently under consideration by the European Commission as a risk management measure. In this study, a new quantitative method is described for the determination of five Alternaria toxins and citrinin in tomato and tomato juice samples based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection. Samples were extracted with pure methanol, followed by a derivatization step with 2,4 dinitrophenylhydrazine to improve the determination of tenuazonic acid and to decrease the wide polarity difference between the compounds of interest. Samples were purified on hydrophilic modified styrene polymer solid-phase extraction cartridges. High performance liquid chromatographic columns packed with different core-shell materials have been tested for the separation of toxins, and a C-18 phase with 2.7 µm particle size was applied in the final method to achieve sufficient separation of all relevant analytes. A key element of this approach was to prove successful transferability of the method to three different triple quadrupole mass spectrometers. A full single laboratory method validation has been performed on two liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometric systems and performance characteristics met the predefined requirements. Moreover, the method has been used in an international proficiency test, and the satisfactory z-scores obtained (-0.1 – 0.8 in tomato juice samples) demonstrated the reliability of the described approach. The method will be validated in an inter-laboratory collaborative study and if criteria for method precision are met, the method will be proposed to as a new Work Item to the European Committee for Standardization.

TOELGYESI Adam;  STROKA Joerg;  TAMOSIUNAS Vytautas;  ZWICKEL Theresa; 

2017-02-02

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

JRC95882

1944-0049,   

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2015.1072644,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC95882,   

10.1080/19440049.2015.1072644,