Suquan Song

Multiplex Lateral Flow Immunoassay for Mycotoxin Determination

A new lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) is proposed for qualitative and/or semiquantitative determination of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), and their analogues (AFs, ZEAs, DONs) in cereal samples. Each of the mycotoxin specific antibody was class specific and there was no cross reactivity to other groups of compounds. The visual limits of detection (vLOD) of the strip were 0.03, 1.6, and 10 μg/kg for AFB1, ZEA and DON, respectively. The calculated limits of detection (cLOD) were 0.05, 1, and 3 μg/kg, respectively. Meanwhile the cutoff values were achieved at 1, 50, and 60 μg/kg for AFB1, ZEA and DON, respectively. Recoveries ranged from 80% to 122% and RSD from 5% to 20%. Both the vLOD and cLOD for the three mycotoxins were lower than the EU maximum levels. Analysis of naturally contaminated maize samples resulted in a good agreement between the multiplex LFA and LC-MS/MS (100% for DONs and AFs, and 81% for ZEAs). Careful analysis of the results further explained the general overestimation of LFA compared to chromatographic methods for quantification of mycotoxins.

A direct assessment of mycotoxin biomarkers in human urine samples by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Detection of mycotoxin biomarkers in urine of humans and animals provides a direct approach for assessing exposure to these mycotoxins as opposed to the indirect approach of food analysis, which in most cases is affected by the heterogeneity of the toxin in the food samples. Seven (7) mycotoxins and their metabolites (total 18 analytes) were selected and an LC-MS/MS method for their determination in human urine was developed and validated. The method consisted of direct analysis of two mycotoxin conjugates, deoxynivalenol-glucuronide and zearalenone-glucuronide without beta glucuronidase digestion of the urine samples. Since high method sensitivity is of utmost importance in such study, critical factors which could improve the analyte recovery and method sensitivity were investigated by a D-optimal experimental design. Urine samples (10 mL) were first extracted with 15 mL ethyl acetate/formic acid (99/1, v/v) followed by SAX SPE clean-up of the acidified aqueous fraction. Both extracts were combined and analyzed using an LC-MS/MS system operated in the positive ionization mode. A total run time of 28 min was adopted with all the 18 analytes eluting within 15 min. The method was validated by taking into consideration the guidelines specified in Commission Decision 2002/657/EC and 401/2006/EC. Forty samples obtained from volunteers within the laboratory research group were analyzed as part of a pilot study. All results were expressed per mg creatinine. A total of 9 samples were found contaminated with one or more of the following analytes: DON, OTA, OTα, 4-OH OTA, ZEN, CIT and β-ZOL. One-eighth (5/40) of the samples were contaminated with DON in the range of 3.7-67 ng mg(-1) creatinine. Samples with detectable levels of DON did not show any co-occurrence of DON-3Glu. One sample was found to be contaminated with 4-OH OTA (<LOQ), co-occurring with only OTA (0.2 ng mg(-1) creatinine). OTα (up to 4.4 ng mg(-1) creatinine) was detected in three other samples co-occurring with low levels of OTA (up to 0.3 ng mg(-1) creatinine) and no 4-OH OTA detected. ZEN was detected in 10% (4/40) of the samples analyzed. Three samples were contaminated with β-ZOL (3.3-20 ng mg(-1) creatinine), co-occurring with ZEN (<LOQ-10.8 ng mg(-1) creatinine). The ratio of ZEN/β-ZOL varied for all the three samples. α-ZOL was not detected in any of the 40 samples. CIT was detected in one sample at 4.5 ng mg(-1) creatinine. This is the first study carried out with a small group of the Belgian population to assess exposure to mycotoxins using biomarkers.

Development and application of salting-out assisted liquid/liquid extraction for multi-mycotoxin biomarkers analysis in pig urine with high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Direct determination of urinary mycotoxins is a better approach to assess individuals exposure than the indirect estimation from average dietary intakes. In this study, a new analytical method was developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of aflatoxin B1, deoxynivalenol, fumonisin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone and T2 toxin and their metabolites in pig urine. In total 12 analytes were selected. A salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction procedure was used for sample preparation. High performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry was used for the separation and detection of all the analytes. The extraction recoveries were in a range of 70-108%, with the intra-day relative standard deviation and inter-day relative standard deviation lower than 25% for most of the compounds at 3 different concentration levels. Meanwhile the method bias for all the analytes did not exceed 20%. The limits of quantification ranged from 0.07ngmL(-1) for ochratoxin A to 3.3ngmL(-1) for deoxynivalenol. Matrix effect was evaluated in this study and matrix-matched calibration was used for quantification. The developed method was also validated for human urine as an extension of its application. Finally, the developed method was applied in a pilot study to analyze 28 pig urine samples. Deoxynivalenol, aflatoxin B1, fumonisin B1 and ochratoxin A were detected in these samples.

Multimycotoxin analysis in urines to assess infant exposure: a case study in Cameroon.

This study was conducted to investigate mycotoxin exposure in children (n=220, aged 1.5-4.5years) from high mycotoxin contamination regions of Cameroon and to examine the association between the mycotoxin levels (in total 18 analytes) and several socio-demographic factors and anthropometric characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted in six villages in Cameroon with 220 children. Mycotoxins and their metabolites were detected in 160/220 (73%) urine samples. There were significant differences in the mean contamination levels of ochratoxin A (p=0.01) and β-zearalenol (p=0.017) between the two agro-ecological zones investigated. Likewise significant differences were observed in the mean levels of aflatoxin M1 (p=0.001) across the weaning categories of these children. The mean concentration of aflatoxin M1 detected in the urine of the partially breastfed children (1.43ng/mL) was significantly higher (p=0.001) than those of the fully weaned children (0.282ng/mL). Meanwhile, the mean concentrations of deoxynivalenol (3.0ng/mL) and fumonisin B1 (0.59ng/mL) detected in the urine of the male children was significantly (p value 0.021 for deoxynivalenol and 0.004 for fumonisin B1) different from the levels detected in the urine of female children; 0.71ng/mL and 0.01ng/mL for deoxynivalenol and fumonisin B1 respectively. In this study, there was no association between the different malnutrition categories (stunted, wasting and underweight) and the mycotoxin concentrations detected in the urine of these children. However, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that children in Cameroon under the age 5 are exposed to high levels of carcinogenic substances such as fumonisin B1, aflatoxin M1 and ochratoxin A through breastfeeding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of its kind carried out in West Africa to determine multi-mycotoxin exposure in infants.

Simultaneous determination of major type B trichothecenes and deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside in animal feed and raw materials using improved DSPE combined with LC-MS/MS.

A simple and reliable method for simultaneous determination of deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside and major type B trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, fusarenon X, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol and deepoxy-deoxynivalenol) in animal feed and raw materials has been developed and validated in this study. The method was based on an improved dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) followed by analysis using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Also, matrix-matched calibration curve (R(2)>0.99) was employed to minimize matrix effects and ensure accurate quantification. The recoveries during sample preparation process (including extraction and clean-up) ranged from 79.03% to 118.39%, with intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviation lower than 20% for all the analytes. The limit of quantification ranged from 5.0 μg/kg for deoxynivalenol to 13.6 μg/kg for fusarenon X. The validated method was successfully applied to the analysis of animal feed and corn. The pilot study showed that 37 out of 41 samples were contaminated with deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside at the levels of 6.0-121.0 μg/kg. Most of the type B trichothecenes were also found with the exception of fusarenon X, at the contaminated levels of 10.0-1,382 μg/kg. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first scientific report on the co-occurrence of masked deoxynivalenol and type B trichothecenes in animal feed and raw materials.

A rabbit monoclonal antibody-based sensitive competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay for rapid detection of chloramphenicol residue

A sensitive competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay (ciELISA) based on a rabbit monoclonal antibody (RabMAb) against chloramphenicol (CAP) has been developed and validated in this study. After optimisation of several key physicochemical factors, such as Tween-20 percentage, pH value and ionic strength, the immunoassay showed excellent performance within the linear range of 0.18–6.37 ng mL−1, with the 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) of 1.06 ng mL−1 and the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.1 ng mL−1. In addition, the cross-reactivities of RabMAb towards chloramphenicol succinate, florfenicol and thiamphenicol were 2.09, 12.45 and 18.10%, respectively. Finally, the developed method was applied in spiked swine urine, milk and honey samples, with recoveries ranging from 71.03 to 109.62%. The result demonstrated that the developed immunoassay is a valuable method for screening and quantitation of CAP residues in real samples.

Newly Combined Method of Molecularly Imprinted Solid-Phase Extraction with ELISA for Rapid Detection of Clenbuterol in Animal-Tissue Samples

Abstract A new method using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as specific adsorbent materials coupled with ELISA analysis is being reported for the first time for the detection of clenbuterol (CLB) residue in the pig muscles. After optimization of the posttreatments, the total amount of template bleeding in the CLB MIPs was decreased to only 3.0 ng CLB/60 mg MIPs, which is 10 times lower than that of the previous report. Moreover, compared to the methods of C18-ELISA and single ELISA, the combined molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE)–ELISA exhibited high precision and robust accuracy for CLB at all three spiked levels of 0.5, 5.0, and 10.0 ng g−1.

Large-scale preparation and multi-dimensional characterization of high-purity mycotoxin deoxynivalenol in rice culture inoculated with Fusarium graminearum

Food safety monitoring and toxicological research of mycotoxins are still in need of large quantities of high-purity deoxynivalenol (DON). To attain this purpose, a rapid, economical and reproducible purification method was developed for large-scale production of DON from rice culture inoculated with a DON-producing Fusarium graminearum strain JYH. The inoculated rice culture was first extracted with acetonitrile–water (84/16, v/v). The extracts were evaporated to dryness on a rotary evaporator after ethyl acetate partitioning and then dissolved in water followed by the final purification procedure through preparative high performance liquid chromatography and montmorillonite treatment. A combined approach of ultraviolet spectrometry (UV), ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was applied for the multi-dimensional characterization of the target compound. As a result, the recovery of DON from the crude extract to the final product was up to 70%. An amount of 150 mg DON with the desirable purity of 98.93% could be obtained from 100 g of rice culture, which possessed identical immunochemical characteristics compared to a certified commercial DON standard. This proposed strategy might act as a valuable reference to obtain rather expensive compounds in a straightforward way.

Establishment of an isotope dilution LC-MS/MS method revealing kinetics and distribution of co-occurring mycotoxins in rats

An isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method with a fast sample preparation using homemade clean-up cartridges was developed for simultaneous determination of co-occurring mycotoxins exemplified with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and T-2 toxin (T-2) in representative biomatrices of rat plasma, heart, liver, kidney, spleen, lung and brain in a total run time of 7 min. The established approach using stable internal standards of [13C17]-AFB1 and [13C24]-T-2 was extensively validated by determining the specificity, linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9990), sensitivity (lower limit of quantitation at 0.05 ng mL−1), accuracy (70.9–107.7%), precision (RSD ≤ 14.2%) and stability (≥70.8%). Based on this methodological advance, the subsequent kinetics and tissue distribution after oral administration of 0.5 mg kg−1 b.w. of both AFB1 and T-2 in rats were thoroughly studied. As revealed, both AFB1 and T-2 were rapidly eliminated with the half-life time (t1/2) in plasma of 8.44 ± 4.02 h and 8.12 ± 4.05 h, respectively. Moreover, AFB1 accumulated in all organs where the highest concentration was observed in liver (1.34 μg kg−1), followed by kidney (0.76 μg kg−1). Notably, only low levels of T-2 were observed in spleen (0.70 μg kg−1) and in liver (0.15 μg kg−1). The achieved data as supporting evidence would substantially promote the practical application of the proposed LC-MS/MS method for in vivo toxicokinetics and toxicity studies of co-occurring mycotoxins imitating natural incidence in rat system.